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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT 


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Digitized  by  tlie  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  witli  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


littp://www.arcliive.org/details/clevelandsclioolsOOayreiala 


THE  CLEVELAND  SCHOOL  SURVEY 


THE  SURVEY  COMMITTEE  OF  THE 
CLEVELAND  FOUNDATION 

Charles  E.  Adams,  Chairman 

Thomas  G.  Fitzsimons 

Myrta  L.  Jones 

Bascom  Little 

Victor  W.  Sincere 


Arthur  D.  Baldwin,  Secretary 

James  R.  Garfield,  Counsel 

Allen  T.  Bums,  Director 


THE  EDUCATION  SURVEY 
Leonard  P.  Ayres,  Director 


CLEVELAND  EDUCATION  SURVEY 

THE  CLEVELAND 
SCHOOL  SURVEY 

(SUMMARY  VOLUME) 
BY 

LEONARD  P.  AYRES 


THE  SURVEY  COMMITTEE  OF  THE 

CLEVELAND  FOUNDATION 

CLEVELAND • OHIO 


COPTRIGHT,  1917,  BT 

THE  SURVEY  COMMITTEE  OF  THE 
CLEVELAND  FOtTNDATION 


Printed  January,  1917,  3153  copies 
Reprinted  March,  1920,  500  copies 


WM.  p.  FELL  CO  •  PRINTERS 
PHILADELPHIA 


Education 
library 

^-/) 

FOREWORD 

This  report  on  "The  Cleveland  School  Survey" 
is  the  last  of  the  25  sections  of  the  report  of  the 
Education  Survey  of  Cleveland  conducted  by 
the  Survey  Committee  of  the  Cleveland  Foun- 
dation in  1915.  Twenty-three  of  these  sections 
have  been  published  as  separate  monograph 
reports.  In  addition  there  is  a  volume  entitled 
"Wage  Earning  and  Education"  which  gives  a 
summary  of  the  sections  relating  to  industrial 
education.  The  present  summary  volume  tells 
of  the  conduct  of  the  entire  work  and  the  find- 
ings and  recommendations  of  the  15  volumes  re- 
lating to  the  regular  work  of  the  public  schools. 
Copies  of  all  these  publications  may  be  obtained 
from  the  Cleveland  Foundation.  They  may 
also  be  obtained  from  the  Division  of  Education 
of  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  New  York  City. 
A  complete  list  will  be  found  in  the  back  of  this 
volume,  together  with  prices. 


10864.'J3 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PAQB 

Foreword  5 

List  of  Tables  17 

List  of  Diagrams  18 

CHAPTEB 

I.  The  Survey  and  the  City  19 

The  people  who  live  in  Cleveland  20 

The  work  that  Clevelanders  do  22 

How  much  Cleveland  has  and  what  it  spends  24 

What  Cleveland  people  buy  with  their  tax  money  26 

People  who  prefer  private  schools  27 

Summary  29 

IL  How  THE  Survey  Was  Conducted  31 
Permanent  staff  and  specialists  32 
Form  of  report  33 
Conferences  with  the  local  school  people  33 
Carrying  the  community  35 
Cost  of  the  survey  .  _  39 
Distribution  of  total  survey  costs  among  the  prin- 
cipal divisions  of  the  work  39 
Principal  p;irposes  for  which  survey  funds  were 

spent  40 

Survey  staff  41 

Summary  47 

III.  General  Conclusions  49 

Legal  basis  of  the  system  50 

Control  by  board  51 

Professional  leadership  and  methods  of  supervision  52 

Financial  support  56 

Business  management  56 

Organization  of  system  57 

The  teaching  staff  58 

Educational  aims,  courses  of  study,  and  agencies  59 

The  school  plant  and  equipment  61 

Commimity  standards  and  aspirations  62 

Summary  63 


rv.   New  Contmbutions  to  Education  64 

The  education  of  exceptional  children  64 

The  education  of  immigrant  children  66 

Boys  and  girls  in  commercial  work  68 

An  actuarial  basis  for  industrial  education  69 
Expenditures  for  educational  and  for  business  pur> 

poses  71 

The  platoon  plan  72 

Comparative  costs  of  school  buildings  73 

The  purchase  of  text  books  74 

The  pension  fund  and  teachers  who  enter  late  75 

^  Speed  and  quality  in  handwriting  and  reading  76 

"^  Standardized  tests  in  reading  77 

A  spiral  test  in  arithmetic  77 

^Analysis  of  failures  in  school  subjects  78 

Relation  of  high  schools  to  rest  of  system  79 

Summary  79 

SUMMARIES  OF  SEPARATE  MONOGRAPH 
REPORTS 

V.  Child  Accounting  in  the  Public  Schools  81 

Accuracy  of  school  census  82 

Number  of  children  in  pubUc  schools  82 

A  more  accurate  and  useful  census  83 

Ages  at  which  pupils  leave  school  84 

Grades  at  which  pupils  leave  school  87 

Regularity  of  attendance  89 

Children  who  are  misfits  89 

Size  of  classes  94 

Compulsory  attendance  94 

Conclusions  and  recommendations  95 

VI.  The  Teaching  Staff  97 
Salary  schedule  of  elementary  principals  97 
The  salaries  actually  paid  to  Cleveland  teachers  99 
Number  and  salaries  of  supervisory  oflScers  100 
Salaries  in  Cleveland  compared  with  salaries  else- 
where 100 
Salary  increases  101 
Increase  in  the  cost  of  living  101 
Salaries  of  teachers  as  compared  with  those  of 

other  workers  101 

School  funds  and  teachers'  salaries  102 

Experience  of  teachers  103 

Experience  of  principals  103 


Ages  of  principals  104 
Education  of  elementary  and  high  school  teach- 
ers and  elementary  principals  104 
The  pension  fund  and  teachers  who  enter  late  106 
Married  teachers  109 
Training  in  service  109 
Teachers'  meetings  110 
Promotion  for  merit  and  service  112 
The  normal  training  school  113 
Health  of  teachers  113 
Teachers'  certification  114 
Tenure  114 
Substitutes  115 
Appointment  of  teachers  116 
Conclusions  and  recommendations  116 

VII.  What  the  Schools  Teach  and  Might  Teach        118 

The  point  of  view  118 

^Reading  and  literature  121 

Spelling  122 

Language,  composition,  grammar  123 

Matnematics  124 

History  125 

Civics  127 

Geography  128 

Drawing  and  applied  art  129 

Manual  training  and  household  arts  129 

Elementary  science  131 

Physiology  and  hygiene  132 

Physical  training  133 

Music  133 

Foreign  languages  134 

Differentiation  of  courses  134 

Conclusions  and  recommendations  134 

VIII.  Measuring  the  Work  of  the  Public  Schools      137 

Aggregate  failures  in  all  grades  138 

Mental  incapacity  as  an  explanation  140 

Failures  in  subjects  140 

■*  Failures  in  reading  140 

Failures  in  arithmetic  141 

Records  of  individual  grades  and  schools  142 

The  need  for  scientific  supervision  143 

Observations  in  the  Schools  144 

Methods  of  recording  visits  146 


General  conclusions  from  visits  145 
Emphasis  on  traditional  subjects  146 
Behavior  in  classes  excellent  146 
Fluctuations  in  quality  of  teaching  and  super- 
vision 147 
Observations  on  supervision  147 
Dearth  of  men  in  elementary  schools  148 
Central  supervision  148 

TesTS  AND  Statistical  Studies  149 

Tests  show  wide  variations  in  grades  149 
Tests  reveal  lack  of  definite  aims  at  many  points     150 

Tests  as  a  basis  of  administration  151 

Tests  of  Handwriting  151 

Uniform  conditions  151 

Scope  of  the  Cleveland  tests  152 

Individual  rates  of  speed  152 

Speed  in  various  grades  163 

Method  of  rating  quality  153 

Variations  in  quality  154 

Relation  of  speed  and  quality  154 

Emphasis  in  various  schools  155 

Comparison  of  Cleveland  with  other  cities  157 

Recommendations  157 

Tests  of  Spelling  158 

Words  for  the  tests  158 

Number  of  returns  168 

Variation  in  schools  and  grades  159 

Cleveland  has  an  average  record  159 

Recommendations  160 

Studies  of  Arithmetic  160 

Spiral  character  of  the  tests  160 

Test  of  speed  161 

Test  A  162 

Test  B  164 

Test  C  164 

Test  D  164 

Test  E  164 

Test  F  166 

Test  G  166 
TestH                                                             •      166 

Test  I  166 

Test  J  166 

Test  K  166 

Tests  L,  M,  N,  and  O  167 

Complexity  of  educational  processes  167 


Studies  of  Reading  168 

Conduct  of  reading  tests  168 

Tests  of  oral  reading  169 

Variations  in  schools  169 

*»  Analysis  to  show  influence  of  sex,  books,  and 

nationality  171 
Achievement  in  Cleveland   as  compared  with 

other  cities  171 

Tests  in  silent  reading  175 

Comparison  of  Cleveland  pupils  with  others  177 
General  relation  between  rate  and  quality  of 

silent  reading  177 

Explanation  of  the  Cleveland  record  179 

Records  of  various  schools  182 

\KlNDERGAKTEN8  A^fD  PrIMAKY  GraDES  182 

Recommendations  183 

Relation  Between  Elementary  Schooi^  and 

High  Schools  183 

Differences  between  individual  schools  184 

High  Schools  186 

Ranks  of  entering  students  186 

Ages  of  students  in  various  schools  187 

Withdrawals  and  non-promotions  187 

High  school  grades  in  the  first  year  188 

Number  of  repeaters,   students  dropped,   and 

failures  189 

Comparisons  between  successive  years  190 

Recommendations  190 

Appendix  191 

Conclusions  and  recommendations  191 

IX.  Health  Work  in  the  Public  Schools  194 

The  argument  for  medical  inspection  194 

How  the  work  started  194 

The  present  system  195 

The  school  nurse  196 

Cleveland's  dispensaries  196 

Dental  cUnics  196 

Eye  clinics  197 

The  medical  inspection  staflF  197 

The  plan  of  concentrating  interests  198 

Speech  defects  198 

Vaccination  199 

Future  development  ^  199 

Health  and  education  and  business  200 

Conclusions  and  recommendations  201 


X.  ScHOOi^  AND  Classes  for  Exceptional  Children  203 

Why  we  have  special  classes  203 

Division  of  exceptional  children  in  two  groups  204 

Classes  for  the  blind  207 

Classes  for  the  deaf  209 

Classes  for  crippled  children  210 

Open  ^r  classes  211 

"Steamer"  classes  211 

Speech  defects  212 

Restoration  classes  212 

Classes  for  incorrigibles  213 

The  socially  incompetent  213 

The  selection  of  feebleminded  children  214 

What  should  be  done  for  the  feebleminded  215 

The  special  school  for  feebleminded  216 

An  institution  for  the  feebleminded  217 

Conclusions  and  recommendations  217 

XI.  Household  Arts  and  School  Lunches  219 
Household  Arts  in  Elementary  Schools  219 
Household  arts  training  220 
Present  conditions  in  Cleveland  220 
Sui)ervision  221 
The  teaching  corps  221 
Teachers'  salaries  222 
Attitude  of  principals,  parents,  and  pupils  to- 
ward household  arts  222 
Course  of  study  223 
Practical  suggestions  regarding  the  work  223 
Model  housekeeping  apartments  224 
Relation  of  household  arts  to  elementary  educa- 
tion 224 
Homemaking  versus  housekeeping  225 
Both  boys  and  girls  need  education  for  home- 
making  225 
Function  of  household  arts  and  its  two  aspects  220 
Selection  of  subject  matter  226 
A  housekeeping  course  in  the  junior  high  school  226 
Household  Arts  in  High  Schools  227 
Space,  physical  equipment,  and  costs  227 
Course  of  study  in  technical  schools  228 
West  Technical  lunchroom  used  for  vocational 

work  228 

Trade  work  in  foods  and  sanitation  229 

Courses  of  study  in  academic  high  schools  229 

Teaching  force  230 


Supervision  230 

Elementary  School  Lunch  Service  230 
Elementary  school  lunches  from  two  points  of 

view  231 
School  meals  as  supplements  or  substitutes  for 

home  meals  231 

Kinds  of  lunches  and  by  whom  provided  232 

Food  natural  need  of  all  children  232 

School  lunch  or  street  lunch  233 

Lunch  service  a  big  business  233 

Consolidated  lunch  service  recommended  233 

High  School  Ltjnch  Service  234 
Two  distinct  policies  with  regard  to  school  lunch 

service  235 
Place  of  lunch  service  in  the  school  system  235 
High  school  lunches  a  big  business  236 
Consolidated  system  recommended  237 
Infant  Hygiene  237 
Origin  of  infant  hygiene  instruction  238 
Arguments  for  teaching  infant  hygiene  in  ele- 
mentary schools  238 
Infant  hygiene  and  the  work  it  displaces  238 
Adult  responsibiUty  and  the  adolescent  girl  239 
Hygiene  for  boys  and  girls  alike  239 
Teaching    of    infant    hygiene    an    emergency 

measxire  240 

Conclusions  and  recommendations  240 

XII.  Education  Through  Recreation  243 

Organization  of  recesses  247 

Schoolroom  and  indoor  recreation  248 

Kindergartens  and  lower  grades  249 

Playgrounds  idle  most  of  the  year  249 

Many  gymnasiums  unequipped  250 

Swimming  pools  unfinished  or  unused  251 

Hardy  games  in  the  elementary  grades  251 

The  conduct  of  school  recreation  252 
Recreational  influence  of  schools  out  of  school 

hours  254 

Play  and  recreation  distinguished  254 
Organization  for  education  through  recreation      255 

Conclusions  and  recommendations  257 

XIII.  Educational  Extension  258 

By  whom  schools  were  used  260 

Groups  using  school  accommodations  261 


Cleveland's  most  intensively  used  school  262 

Plant  well  equipped  for  extension  work  264 

Past  administration  of  extension  work  265 

The  new  division  of  school  extension  266 

Internal  reasons  for  this  new  development  269 

Conclusions  and  recommendations  270 

XIV.  The  School  and  the  Immigrant  272 

A  large  proportion  cannot  speak  English  272 

Fewer  become  American  citizens  273 
School     children     from     non-English-speaking 

homes  274 
Foreign  language  teaching  in  parochial  schools  274 
Wide  variation  in  different  schools  277 
Efforts  of  national  groups  to  preserve  their  lan- 
guages 277 
Teacher  should  know  characteristics  of  national 

groups  278 
The  problem  of  education  for  the  foreign  children  279 
Steamer  classes  279 
EngUsh-speaking  children  from  non-English- 
speaking  homes  280 
The  adult  immigrant  and  the  school  284 
Citizenship  classes  285 
Quality  of  instruction  in  evening  schools  286 
Reorganization  essential  288 
Conclusions  and  recommendations  290 

XV.  The  Public  Library  and  the  Public  Schools  293 

Library  branches  in  public  schools  293 

Seven  elementary  school  libraries  294 

Work  of  school  hbraries  with  children  294 

Book  supply  295 

Conditions  of  borrowing  295 

Administration  of  library  work  296 

Branch  libraries  297 

Classroom  and  home  libraries  297 

High  school  libraries  298 

The  normal  school  library  298 

Future  developments  299 

Reading  and  education  300 

School  libraries  and  the  platoon  plan  300 

Libraries  in  junior  high  schools  301 

Inadequate  salaries  of  school  librarians  301 

Conclusions  and  recommendations  302 


XVI.  School  Buildings  and  Equipment  304 

Building  for  education  304 

Building  for  economy  305 

Building  for  safety  306 

Building  for  health  306 

Building  for  happiness  306 

Developments  in  seven  decades  306 

Location  of  buildings  307 

Lighting  307 

Blackboards  308 

Furniture  309 

Special  rooms  309 

Toilet  facihties  310 

Fire  protection  312 

Heating  and  ventilating  314 

Costs  314 

Building  problems  of  the  future  316 

Forecasting  future  needs  316 

The  testing  of  building  policies  317 

Conclusions  and  recommendations  318 

XVII.  Overcrowded  Schools  and  the  Platoon  Plan  319 

Part  time  plans  319 

The  platoon  plan  320 

Len^h  and  arrangement  of  day  322 

Equipment  of  special  rooms  323 

Costs  323 

Equipment  of  buildings  324 

Problems  of  administration  325 

Building  problems  in  Cleveland  325 

Teachers  for  the  platoon  plan  326 

Preliminary  experimentation  essential  326 

Conclusions  and  recommendations  327 

XVIII.  Financing  the  Public  Schools  328 

Expenditures  for  all  school  purposes  329 
Distribution  of  expenditures  for  the  operation 

and  maintenance  of  schools  330 

Economies  in  school  administration  336 

Means  of  increasing  school  revenues  336 

Conclusions  and  recommendations  341 

XIX.  School  Organization  and  Administration        343 
Methods   of   board   determine   character   of 

school  system  344 


What  the  board  should  do  346 

How  the  board  should  be  selected  347 

Board  should  delegate  details  350 

School  problems  require  board  deliberation        352 
Direct  action  as  a  substitute  for  committee 

action  354 

Unit  instead  of  dual  organization  355 

Authority  and  responsibiUty  should  be  defi- 
nitely located  357 
Free  textbook  system  should  be  adopted  357 
Conclusions  and  recommendations  361 


LIST  OF  TABLES 

TABLB  PAQB 

1.  Pupils  in  elementary,  high,  and  normal  schools  85 

2.  Age  and  progress  of  children  in  elementary  schools  90 

3.  Children  both  over-age  and  making  slow  progress  93 

4.  Salaries  of  Cleveland  teachers  98 

5.  Salaries  of  supervisory  officers  99 

6.  Comparison  of  Cleveland  salaries  with  those  in  other 

cities  100 

7.  Records  of  visits  to  recitations  144 

8.  Ranks  of  pupils  in  elementary  and  high  schools  186 

9.  Special  schools  and  classes  in  1915  203 

10.  Recreational  facilities  244 

11.  Growth  of  wider  use  of  school  plant  262 

12.  Languages  spoken  in  homes  of  pupils  275 

13.  Pupils  studying  foreign  languages  in  Catholic  schools  276 

14.  Leading  nationaUty  groups  in  elementary  schools  282 

15.  Costs  of  school  buildings  315 

16.  Book  purchases  from  different  companies  360 


LIST  OF  DIAGRAMS 

DIAGRAM  PAGB 

1.  Nativity  of  inhabitants  of  11  large  cities  21 

2.  Occupations  of  inhabitants  of  11  large  cities  23 

3.  Wealth  and  taxes  in  11  large  cities                      _  25 

4.  Rank  of  Cleveland  among  11  large  cities  in  municipal 

expenditures  26 

5.  Children  in  public  and  private  schools  in  nine  large 

cities  28 

6.  Nationalities  of  pupils  in  two  Cleveland  schools  67 

7.  Expenditures  of  18  school  systems  for  business  pur- 

poses     _                          _  72 

8.  Boys  and  girls  of  each  age  in  public  schools  85 

9.  Ages  at  which  pupils  leave  school  86 

10.  Grades  at  which  pupils  leave  school  88 

11.  Ages  and  progress  of  children  91 

12.  Training  of  Cleveland  teachers  105 

13.  Home  trained  teachers  in  Cleveland  107 

14.  Failures  in  each  grade  139 

15.  Quality  and  speed  of  handwriting  156 

16.  Results  of  arithmetic  tests  163 

17.  Oral  reading  of  girls  and  boys  170 

18.  Reading  of  pupils  using  Ward  and  Aldine  systems  172 

19.  Reading  of  American,  Itahan,  and  Hebrew  pupils  173 

20.  Reading  scores  in  Cleveland  and  in  Illinois  174 

21.  Rate  of  silent  reading  in  Cleveland  and  13  other  cities  176 

22.  Quahty  of  silent  reading  in  Cleveland  and  13  other 

cities  176 

23.  Speed  and  quality  in  silent  reading  ^     178 

24.  Silent  reading  in  Cleveland,  in  other  cities,  and  in 

selected  schools  180 

25.  Rank  of  elementary  pupils  entering  high  schools  185 

26.  Administration  of  school  recreation  253 

27.  Standards  used  in  judging  buildings  313 

28.  Exp)enditures  and  receipts  329 

29.  School  expenditures  in  Cleveland  and  other  cities  331 

30.  Cleveland's  expenditures  and  those  of  other  cities  333 

31.  Salaries  of  teachers  335 

32.  School  and  municipal  expenditures  339 

33.  Roll  call  votes  of  Board  of  Education  351 

34.  Book  purchases  from  different  companies  359 


THE  CLEVELAND  SCHOOL  SURVEY 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  SURVEY  AND  THE  CITY 

The  education  survey  of  Cleveland  began  in  April, 
1915,  and  continued  through  June,  1916.  It  was 
conducted  under  the  auspices  of  the  Survey  Commit- 
tee of  the  Cleveland  Foundation,  which  supplied  the 
necessary  funds.  The  reports  of  its  work  have  been 
published  in  a  series  of  25  bound  monographs  deal- 
ing with  different  phases  of  the  educational  condi- 
tions and  problems  of  the  city. 

Fifteen  of  these  monographs  consider  different 
aspects  of  the  work  of  the  present  elementary,  high, 
and  evening  schools,  while  eight  are  educational 
studies  of  occupations  employing  large  numbers  of 
wage  earners  in  Cleveland.  One  monograph  is  a 
summary  of  these  eight  studies  of  vocational  edu- 
cation, and  the  present  volume,  which  is  the  last  of 
the  entire  series,  is  primarily  the  summary  of  the  15 
public  school  reports.  In  addition  it  gives  some  ac- 
count of  the  inception,  conduct,  and  conclusions  of 
the  entire  survey.  The  first  four  chapters  present 
a  general  summing  up  of  methods  and  conclusions, 
while  the  15  following  chapters  are  brief  summaries 

19 


of  the  15  separate  monograph  reports  on  diflferent 
phases  of  the  work  of  the  public  schools.  In  order 
that  these  findings  may  be  seen  in  proper  perspective, 
it  is  worth  while  to  review  in  this  first  chapter  some 
of  the  more  salient  social  characteristics  of  the  city. 


The  People  Who  Live  in  Cleveland 
Cleveland  is  not  only  one  of  the  largest  cities  in  the 
country;  it  is  also  one  of  the  most  foreign.  This  is 
clearly  indicated  by  Diagram  1,  which  shows  the 
proportion  of  native  and  foreign  persons  in  Cleve- 
land and  10  other  large  cities  at  the  time  of  the  last 
census.  The  cities  shown  in  this  comparison  are 
those  reported  by  the  census  bureau  as  having 
populations  between  400,000  and  750,000  in  1915. 
In  each  case  the  horizontal  bar  represents  all  the 
people  of  the  city.  The  first  section  in  outline  shows 
the  number  in  each  100  who  are  native  whites  of 
native  parents.  The  second  part  of  the  bar  in  cross- 
hatching  shows  the  per  cent  who  are  native  whites 
of  foreign  or  mixed  parentage.  The  third  portion  of 
the  bar  in  black  shows  the  number  of  foreign  born 
whites,  and  the  last  part  with  horizontal  lines  shows 
the  number  of  colored  persons.  In  the  Pacific  Coast 
cities  of  Los  Angeles  and  San  Francisco  this  last 
group  contains  many  Asiatics  as  well  as  some  negroes. 
The  important  condition  revealed  by  the  diagram 
is  that  Cleveland  is  one  of  the  most  foreign  of  large 
American  cities.  Three-fourths  of  all  its  inhabitants 
are  either  foreign  bom  or  of  foreign  parentage.   It 

20 


is  true,  moreover,  that  Cleveland  has  a  larger  pro- 
portion of  foreign  inhabitants  who  are  unable  to 


Loa  Attgelei 


53 


Baltlaor* 


47 


Cineipnati 


43 


'E' 


%     E    S 


8t.  Loaia 


40 

V//////AiV//////^m^Stm^ 

////////// ////////^^m^M— A 

Plttaboxsh 

33 

y//mw/////m^^ 

Buffalo 


28 

w////Mw//m 

i^^n 

San  Franoiaeo 

26 

WMW/Mm 

IH 

Nat.  nhita  of 
native  paronta 

%'r/par«nta> 

:Colorad- 


Diagram  1. — Number  of  persons  in  each  100  in  11  large  cities 
who  are  native  white  of  native  parents,  native  white  of  foreign 
parents,  foreign  born  white,  and  colored 

21 


speak  English  than  has  any  other  large  city  and  that 
nearly  one-third  of  all  the  men  of  voting  age  are 
aliens  possessing  no  political  rights  in  this  country 
and  owing  no  allegiance  to  the  government  of  the 
United  States.  Nearly  half  the  school  children  come 
from  homes  in  which  some  foreign  language  is  regu- 
larly spoken.  All  these  facts  are  fundamentally  im- 
portant in  their  bearing  on  the  larger  problems  of 
public  education. 


The  Work  That  Clevelanders  Do 
It  is  probably  true  that  most  people  mentally  at- 
tribute different  characteristics  to  the  inhabitants  of 
different  cities.  Thus  it  is  natural  and  easy  to  think 
of  the  people  of  Detroit  as  being  engaged  in  making 
automobiles,  those  of  Pittsburgh  as  employed  in 
metal  working,  and  so  on.  Certain  it  is  that  those 
who  take  part  in  survey  work  become  thoroughly 
accustomed  to  having  the  people  of  the  city  in  which 
they  are  working  assure  them  that  problems  and 
conditions  there  are  quite  different  from  those  any- 
where else. 

The  fact  is,  however,  that  in  all  large  cities  the 
proportions  of  people  engaged  in  different  kinds  of 
work  are  almost  fixed  and  relatively  constant.  The 
explanation  of  this  is  that  there  are  many  kinds  of 
work  that  must  be  done  in  every  city  simply  because 
it  is  a  city  and  these  sorts  of  work  are  necessary  to 
its  Ufe.  The  great  city  requires  an  almost  fixed  pro- 
portion of  professional  workers  and  a  nearly  constant 

22 


number  of  people  doing  clerical  work.  The  number 
engaged  in  transportation  cannot  be  greatly  in- 
creased or  diminished  and  the  city  must  have  its 


P»r- 

P«o- 

■onol 

Trant- 

Clar- 

f«a- 

UL 

Trad* 

••rv- 

porta- 

toal 

alon< 

m 

lo» 

tlon 

al 

ER 

SatroU 


Diagram  2. — Number  of  employed  persons  in  each  100  in  11 
large  cities  who  are  engaged  in  each  of  six  principal  kinds  of 
work 

proper  share  of  people  engaged  in  trade.  Even  those 
working  in  manufacturing  and  mechanical  occupa- 
tions constitute  a  more  nearly  fixed  proportion  of  the 

23 


whole  population  than  would  at  first  thought  be 
expected. 

These  principles  are  graphically  illustrated  in 
Diagram  2,  which  shows  the  number  of  persons  in 
each  100  workers  engaged  in  each  principal  sort  of 
occupation  in  Cleveland  and  10  other  cities  of  similar 
size.  The  important  lesson  of  this  diagram  is  that 
while  Cleveland  is  a  manufacturing  center,  its  young 
people  need  preparation  for  other  lines  of  future 
work  in  proportions  not  very  dififerent  from  those 
maintaining  in  the  other  great  cities. 


How  Much  Cleveland  Has  and  What  It  Spends 
Some  cities  have  considerably  more  taxable  property 
per  inhabitant  than  others  and  there  is  wide  varia- 
tion in  the  amounts  that  the  communities  take  each 
year  in  taxes  for  the  support  of  municipal  govern- 
ment. These  two  sorts  of  variations  do  not  cor- 
respond with  each  other  either  directly  or  inversely. 
There  is  no  general  rule  such  as  that  rich  cities  have 
high  tax  rates  and  poor  cities  low  ones,  or  vice  versa. 

In  Diagram  3  the  wealth  and  the  tax  rates  of  the 
11  cities  are  compared.  The  black  bars  on  the  left 
of  the  diagram  are  proportionate  in  length  to  the 
real  value  of  the  taxable  wealth  per  inhabitant  in 
1915  as  computed  by  the  census.  It  will  be  noted 
that  Cleveland  is  fourth  from  the  bottom  in  this 
comparison  and  so  does  not  rank  among  the  rela- 
tively wealthy  cities. 

The  tax  rates  are  shown  in  the  cross-hatched  bars 
24 


at  the  right  of  the  same  diagram.  Here  it  is  interest- 
ing to  note  that  the  richest  city  has  the  lowest  tax 
rate  and  that  the  two  poorest  cities  have  the  two 
highest  tax  rates.  The  Cleveland  rate  is  the  fifth 
from  the  lowest.  Taking  together  the  two  sets  of 
figures  for  wealth  and  for  taxes,  the  diagram  indi- 


HEAUH  PER  imASTTUn 


TAXES  FEB  $100.000  OT  WIAUB 


Diagram  3. — ^Wealth  per  inhabitant  and  tax  rates  in  11  large 
citiea 

cates  that  Cleveland  is  not  one  of  the  wealthy  cities 
and  that  its  municipal  affairs  are  so  inexpensively 
administered  that  its  tax  rate  is  very  low  indeed  in 
proportion  to  its  resources.  All  the  figures  enter- 
ing into  this  comparison  are  taken  from  the  census 
reports  of  municipal  finances  for  1915. 

25 


What  Cleveland  People  But  with  Their  Tax 

Money 
Cities,  like  persons,  spend  their  incomes  for  the  things 
they  must  have  and  those  other  things  that  they 
value  highly  enough  to  pay  for.  By  finding  out  how 


g 

ST 

• 

1 
2 

u 

4 
5 
6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

l 

1 

2 

3 
4 
5 

□ 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

1 

8 

f 
1 

• 

1 

1 

2 

3 
4 
5 
^ 
7 
8 

9 

11 

5 

M 

s 

• 

1 

2 
11 

3 
3 

• 

1 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 

9 

10 

B 

5 

• 

1 

2 

3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 

9 
10 

E 

o 

• 

m 

I 
2 

3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 

1 

2 
3 
4 
5 

1 

2 

6 

7 

9 

10 

10 

11 

11 

Diagram  4. — Rank  of  Cleveland  among  11  large  cities  in  per 
capita  expenditures  for  each  principal  kind  of  municipal 
activity.     Numbers  in  black  circles  show  Cleveland's  rank 

26 


they  expend  their  incomes  we  discover  something 
of  their  characteristics  and  aspirations.  Diagram  4 
shows  where  Cleveland  ranks  among  the  11  cities 
in  its  per  capita  expenditures  for  each  of  nine  sorts 
of  municipal  activities.  The  numbers  in  the  black 
circles  show  in  each  case  Cleveland's  rank.  The 
first  column  shows  that  two  cities  spend  more  per 
inhabitant  for  the  support  of  public  libraries  and 
that  Cleveland  occupies  third  place  in  this  respect 
among  the  11  cities.  In  expenditures  for  health  and 
sanitation  five  of  the  cities  rank  above  Cleveland 
and  five  below.  For  all  of  the  seven  other  classes 
of  city  work  Cleveland's  expenditures  are  much  lower 
than  the  average. 

There  are  two  impressive  lessons  to  be  drawn  from 
this  diagram.  The  first  is  that  Cleveland's  munici- 
pal activities  are  very  inexpensively  conducted. 
The  second  is  that  Cleveland  places  a  relatively 
higher  valuation  on  libraries,  sanitation,  and  educa- 
tion than  it  does  on  other  sorts  of  city  work.  These 
facts,  like  those  of  the  preceding  diagram,  are  from 
the  1915  census  report  on  municipal  finances. 


People  Who  Prefer  Private  Schools 
In  present-day  consideration,  criticism,  and  com- 
mendation of  American  education  the  assumption  is 
almost  invariably  made  that  if  our  young  people  are 
poorly  educated  or  well  trained,  the  blame  or  the 
credit  belongs  to  the  pubUc  school.  The  business 
man  who  complains  that  the  boys  and  girls  whom  he 

27 


hires  cannot  spell  correctly  or  compute  accurately 
seldom  stops  to  ask  whether  they  were  trained  in 
public  schools  or  in  private  ones. 


Boston 


85 


84 


83 


77 


76 


74 


74 


71 


70 


Diagram  5. — Portions  in  black  indicate  number  of  school 
children  in  each  100  attending  private  and  parochial  schools 
in  each  of  nine  large  cities,  and  portions  in  outline  indicate 
those  attending  public  schools 

The  fact  is  that  in  all  our  large  cities  many 
thousands  of  children  are  educated  in  private  and 
parochial  schools,  and  in  not  a  few  American  com- 
munities a  majority  of  all  the  children  are  trained  in 

28 


these  schools.  Figures  are  available  in  the  report 
of  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education  for 
1914  showing  the  enrollment  in  public  schools  and 
in  private  and  parochial  schools  in  nine  of  our  11 
cities.  The  facts  are  presented  in  Diagram  5,  in 
which  the  black  portion  of  each  horizontal  bar  shows 
the  number  of  school  children  in  each  100  who  are  en- 
rolled in  private  and  parochial  schools  and  the  white 
portion  shows  the  percentage  in  the  public  schools. 
The  lesson  of  the  diagram  is  that  in  most  of  these 
large  cities  about  one-fourth  of  the  children  are  in 
private  and  parochial  schools  and  three-fourths  in 
public  schools  and  that  Cleveland  has  more  than  an 
average  share  in  private  and  parochial  schools. 


Summary 
1.  Cleveland  is  one  of  the  most  foreign  of  American 
cities. 

2.  It  is  predominantly  a  manufacturing  city  but 
occupational  distributions  are  so  nearly  uniform 
in  large  cities  that  the  proportions  of  Cleveland's 
workers  engaged  in  trade,  transportation,  service, 
clerical  occupations,  and  professional  work  are  not 
greatly  different  from  those  found  in  other  large 
communities. 

3.  Cleveland  is  not  a  wealthy  city  and  it  has  a 
comparatively  low  tax  rate.  This  means  that  its 
municipal  income  is  proportionately  lower  than  that 
of  most  other  large  cities  and  so  its  public  activities 
are  inexpensively  conducted. 

29 


4.  In  most  forms  of  municipal  work  Cleveland 
spends  less  per  inhabitant  than  other  cities  of  similar 
size,  but  the  expenditures  for  libraries,  sanitation, 
and  education  are  more  generous  than  those  for  other 
municipal  activities. 

5.  More  than  one-fourth  of  Cleveland's  school 
children  are  being  educated  in  private  and  parochial 
schools.  This  proportion  is  somewhat  larger  than 
that  found  in  most  of  the  other  cities  of  similar  size. 


30 


CHAPTER  II 

HOW  THE  SURVEY  WAS  CONDUCTED 

The  Cleveland  Foundation  is  a  community  trust 
established  in  1914  by  Mr.  Frederick  H.  Goff  through 
,the  agency  of  the  Cleveland  Trust  Company  and  for 
the  purpose  of  forwarding  social  progress  and  human 
welfare  in  that  city.  Its  funds  are  not  the  gift  of 
any  one  person,  for  this  is  a  new  sort  of  foundation 
controlled  by  representatives  of  the  community, 
responsible  to  the  people  for  its  acts,  and  deriving 
its  income  from  funds  contributed  by  those  who  see 
in  this  new  form  of  benefaction  an  effective  instru- 
mentality for  bettering  the  city  in  which  they  have 
lived  and  worked.  Already  the  sums  that  have 
been  pledged  to  the  Cleveland  Foundation  mount  far 
into  the  millions.  Only  small  portions  of  these  funds 
are  as  yet  available  for  foundation  purposes,  but  it  is 
already  clear  that  in  the  years  to  come  the  Cleveland 
Foundation  will  face  the  duty  of  expending  wisely 
for  that  city  sums  of  money  altogether  greater  than 
any  that  have  ever  been  spent  from  private  sources 
for  the  benefit  of  a  single  community. 

Immediately  after  the  establishment  of  the  Founda- 
tion it  became  evident  that  the  future  responsibilities 
of  its  trustees  would  be  heavy  and  varied  in  the  ex- 

31 


treme.  In  view  of  this  future  certainty  those  direct- 
ing the  policies  of  the  Foundation  decided  to  enter 
upon  a  systematic  policy  of  investigation  of  the 
conditions,  problems,  and  needs  of  the  municipal 
community.  They  adopted  as  a  guiding  principle 
the  proposition  that  accurate  and  ample  informa- 
tion and  wise  interpretation  are  the  first  steps  toward 
success  in  any  undertaking. 

The  education  survey  was  the  first  large,  compre- 
hensive study  undertaken  in  accordance  with  this 
principle  of  action.  The  work  was  begim  and  carried 
through  with  the  cooperation  of  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion and  the  cordial  support  of  nearly  all  the  educa- 
tional officials  and  the  teaching  force.  Field  work 
began  in  April,  1915,  and  continued  through  Jime, 
1916. 


Permanent  Staff  and  Specialists 
As  has  already  been  explained  there  were  23  main  sec- 
tions of  the  work,  of  which  eight  were  studies  of  edu- 
cational problems  connected  with  training  workers 
for  the  industries  employing  the  largest  numbers 
of  wage  earners.  These  studies  were  carried  through 
by  investigators  who  were  permanently  attached  to 
the  Survey  Staff  and  who  conducted  a  series  of  long 
and  expensive  studies. 

The  rest  of  the  permanent  staff  of  the  survey  con- 
sisted of  the  director,  his  secretary,  and  10  other 
assistants.  These  people,  together  with  those  en- 
gaged in  conducting  the  industrial  studies,  consti- 

32 


tuted  the  force  at  work  during  a  large  part  of  the 
duration  of  the  survey.  Fifteen  sections  of  the 
survey  were  studies  of  problems  and  conditions 
affecting  the  work  of  the  regular  public  schools  of 
the  city  and  most  of  these  were  conducted  by  edu- 
cational specialists  employed  for  brief  periods  of 
time. 

Form  of  Report 
The  most  important  differences  between  the  methods 
employed  in  the  Cleveland  survey  and  those  that 
have  been  used  in  similar  work  elsewhere  are  related 
to  the  form  of  publication  that  was  adopted  for  the 
reports.  There  have  been  many  reports  of  surveys 
in  other  cities  consisting  of  single  paper-covered 
pamphlets;  others  have  been  fairly  thick  books;  one 
consisted  of  three  volumes,  and  in  that  case  the  dif- 
ferent sections  were  also  printed  separately.  The 
reports  of  the  Cleveland  survey  are  published  in  25 
bound  monographs.  Here  the  entire  survey  work 
has  been  divided  into  relatively  small  sections  and  a 
complete  and  independent  treatise  has  been  prepared 
on  each  section. 


Conferences  with  the  Local  School  People 
There  are  many  advantages  resulting  from  this  form 
of  publication  and  most  of  them  relate  to  securing 
improved  results  in  educating  the  public;  in  bridg- 
ing the  gap  between  knowing  and  doing.  The  typi- 
cal procedure  in  the  preparation  of  a  report  was  as 
3  33 


follows:  The  specialist  employed  to  study  one 
feature  of  the  work  conducted  his  investigation  and 
submitted  his  written  report.  It  might  have  to  do 
with  the  course  of  study,  or  provisions  for  excep- 
tional children,  or  school  buildings,  or  the  teaching 
force,  or  any  other  phase  of  the  educational  work  of 
the  city.  The  report  was  written  in  such  form  that 
it  might  be  printed  in  a  separate  volume  and  still  be 
entirely  comprehensible  to  any  one  who  did  not  read 
any  other  volume  of  the  series. 

After  the  report  was  submitted,  the  director  of  the 
survey  and  other  members  of  the  staff  worked  over 
it  with  the  author  to  make  sure  that  its  findings  were 
accurate  and  that  its  recommendations  were  in  har- 
mony with  those  of  the  other  sections.  The  report 
was  then  put  into  what  the  office  force  came  to  term 
"tentative  final  form"  and  some  20  copies  of  it  were 
made  by  the  mimeograph  process.  The  copies  were 
then  submitted  to  the  members  of  the  Survey  Com- 
mittee, the  members  of  the  Board  of  Education,  the 
superintendent  of  schools,  and  such  interested  school 
officials  as  the  board  or  the  superintendent  might 
designate.  For  example,  a  manuscript  deahng  with 
health  work  was  submitted  to  the  chief  medical  in- 
spector, while  one  having  to  do  with  buildings  was 
submitted  to  the  architect  and  the  business  director. 

After  allowing  about  a  week  for  examining  the  re- 
port a  meeting  was  held  of  all  those  persons  to  whom 
the  manuscript  had  been  submitted.  At  the  meeting 
criticisms,  corrections,  and  suggestions  were  discussed 
at  great  length  and  in  great  detail.  In  addition  to  the 

84 


verbal  discussions,  all  the  members  were  invited  to 
submit  written  memoranda. 

These  conferences  resulted  in  clearing  up  before 
publication  questions  of  fact  and  questions  of  form. 
They  did  not  clear  away  all  the  differences  of  opinion 
with  respect  to  interpretation  and  recommendation. 
In  these  matters  the  final  decision  was  left  to  the 
director  of  the  survey.  This  process  of  conference 
resulted  in  mature  deliberation  concerning  each  fact 
presented  and  each  recommendation  offered.  Some 
of  the  reports  were  rewritten  as  many  as  five  times 
before  being  finally  sent  to  the  printer.  The  rep- 
resentations of  the  members  of  the  Board  of  Edu- 
cation and  the  school  officials  resulted  in  some 
changes  in  every  volume  and  in  scores  of  changes  in 
some  of  them.  In  the  aggregate  some  hundreds  of 
alterations  were  made  as  a  result  of  the  representa- 
tions and  arguments  of  the  local  school  people. 

After  the  report  had  gone  through  this  searching 
process  of  revision,  it  was  printed  in  the  form  of  a 
small  bound  monograph  of  anywhere  from  60  to  300 
pages  in  length  and  usually  with  many  diagrams, 
tables,  and  illustrations. 


Carrying  the  Community 
Each  monograph,  as  it  came  from  the  printer,  was 
given  to  the  public  and  to  the  newspapers  at  a  public 
luncheon  in  one  of  the  leading  hotels.  The  lunch 
cost  60  cents  and  began  at  12  o'clock.  At  about 
half-past  twelve  the  director  of  the  survey  or  the 

35 


author  of  the  monograph  gave  a  talk  of  a  Uttle  more 
than  a  half  hour's  duration  presenting  the  gist  of  the 
report  pubUshed  that  week.  Moreover,  the  reports 
were  placed  on  sale  at  the  time  of  the  meeting.  A 
uniform  charge  of  25  cents  was  made  for  most  of  the 
volumes,  although  it  cost  more  than  that  to  publish 
them. 

Invitations  were  sent  out  to  attend  the  luncheon, 
although  any  one  might  attend  who  wished  to.  The 
dining  room  where  the  luncheons  were  held  accom- 
modated about  300  people  and  the  luncheons  were 
held  weekly  with  few  exceptions  for  more  than  a 
year.  During  the  first  few  months  of  the  work  the 
methods  and  problems  of  the  survey  were  discussed 
at  these  luncheons  and  during  the  latter  weeks  the 
findings  were  discussed  in  the  manner  just  described. 

Although  this  work  was  carried  on  for  more  than  a 
year  the  weekly  audiences  always  filled  the  hall 
comfortably  and  at  times  they  were  so  large  that  the 
hotel  accommodations  were  entirely  inadequate  to 
care  for  them.  One  interesting  fact  was  that  the 
audiences  varied  greatly  in  membership  from  week 
to  week.  A  discussion  of  school  finance  filled  the 
hall  with  business  men;  one  on  medical  inspection 
attracted  a  large  number  of  doctors;  while  one  on 
schoolroom  methods  brought  out  the  teachers  and 
principals. 

As  the  weekly  luncheons  increased  in  popularity, 
the  newspapers  of  the  city  gave  increasing  amounts  of 
space  to  the  consideration  of  educational  problems 
and  the  discussion  of  the  weekly  reports.    Cleveland 

36 


was  probably  the  only  city  in  the  country  at  that  time 
where  the  daily  newspapers  regularly  relegated  war 
news  to  the  inside  pages  in  order  to  put  school  news 
on  the  front  page. 

This  laborious  process  constituted  a  new  develop- 
ment in  educational  practice  and  in  the  technique  of 
the  school  survey.  It  might  be  called  bridging  the 
gap  between  knowing  and  doing,  or  it  might  be 
termed  a  process  of  carrying  the  community.  It 
was  a  method  of  educating  the  public  concerning  its 
educational  problems.  Its  object  was  to  make  the 
entire  school  system  pass  in  complete  review  before 
the  public  eye.  It  made  the  schools  and  the  public 
pay  attention  to  each  other.  It  presented  the  past, 
the  present,  and  the  possible.  Its  aim  was  to  place 
before  the  citizens  a  picture  of  the  schools,  a  picture 
so  accurate  that  it  could  not  mislead,  so  simple  that 
it  could  not  be  misunderstood,  and  so  significant  that 
it  could  not  be  disregarded.  The  Cleveland  ex- 
perience demonstrated  that  it  was  entirely  possible 
to  arouse  the  public  to  this  sort  of  interest  in  their 
school  problems  and  then  to  sustain  that  interest. 

The  best  judges  of  news  values  are  the  public 
newspapers,  and  when  they  devoted  a  large  part  of 
their  front  pages  to  the  discussion  of  educational 
problems  week  after  week  for  nearly  a  year,  they  did 
it  because  they  knew  that  the  readers  were  more 
interested  in  those  problems  than  they  were  in  any 
other  part  of  the  current  news.  Moreover,  it  must 
be  remembered  that  this  condition  maintained  de- 
spite the  fact  that  in  the  main  the  discussions  and 

37 


reports  did  not  relate  to  alleged  inefficiency.  They 
made  no  charges  of  dishonesty.  They  revealed  no 
bad  conditions  in  school  buildings.  They  brought 
to  light  little  that  was  sensational.  The  lesson  of 
all  this  is  that  citizens  and  the  newspapers  are  inter- 
ested in  the  public  schools  and  they  will  give  sus- 
tained attention  to  them  and  their  problems  if  only 
these  matters  are  presented  to  them  simply  and 
convincingly. 

As  a  result  of  these  new  methods  of  bringing  the 
school  people  and  the  public  into  the  work,  the  find- 
ings of  the  Cleveland  survey  differ  in  some  important 
respects  from  those  of  most  other  similar  pieces  of 
work.  Since  each  section  of  the  report  is  a  separate 
volume,  it  had  to  carry  its  own  setting  and  be  suf- 
ficiently complete  to  stand  alone.  In  order  to  meet 
this  requirement  the  different  speciahsts  were  com- 
pelled to  delve  deeply  into  the  fundamental  factors 
conditioning  their  problems.  This  was  rendered 
possible  by  the  unusually  favorable  circumstances 
under  which  the  Cleveland  work  was  conducted. 
The  workers  had  ample  time  and  there  was  generous 
financial  support.  The  work  enjoyed  the  coopera- 
tion of  the  municipal  and  school  authorities  and  the 
reports  profited  by  the  searching  criticism  to  which 
they  were  subjected.  As  a  result  of  these  conditions 
the  findings  of  the  survey  deal  largely  with  funda- 
mental problems  rather  than  details,  with  the  es- 
sential rather  than  with  the  contingent,  and  with 
what  to  do  rather  than  how  to  do  it. 


38 


Cost  of  the  Survey 
The  Cleveland  survey  was  a  very  expensive  enter- 
prise. It  cost  approximately  $48,000,  The  amounts 
expended  on  each  of  the  main  portions  of  the  work 
are  shown  in  the  following  condensed  cost  account- 
ing. In  compiling  this  accounting  the  cost  of  selling 
reports  has  not  been  charged  against  the  survey,  nor 
has  income  from  such  sales  been  credited.  The  cost 
of  printing  second  and  third  editions  of  the  reports 
has  been  omitted  since  these  expenses  pertain  to  the 
conduct  of  the  business  of  the  Cleveland  Foundation 
rather  than  to  the  expense  of  conducting  the  educa- 
tion survey.  Again,  no  part  of  the  salary  of  the 
director  and  permanent  employees  of  the  Cleveland 
Foundation  has  been  charged  against  the  survey  al- 
though they  greatly  assisted  in  the  work.  The  items 
for  the  two  summaries  include  only  the  cost  of  print- 
ing, since  the  expense  entailed  in  writing  the  volumes 
was  borne  by  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation  as  a  part 
of  its  contribution  to  the  survey. 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  TOTAL  SURVEY  COSTS  AMONG  THE 
PRINCIPAL  DIVISIONS  OF  THE  WORK 

Studies  and  tests  of  the  quality  of  instruction  $6,597 

Studies  of  metal  trades  and  industrial  education  for 

them  3,444 

Studies  of  building  trades  and  industrial  education  for 

them  2,981 

Studies  of  garment  trades  and  industrial  education  for 

them  2,371 

Studies  of  printing  trades  and  industrial  education  for 

them  2,219 

Problems  of  education  for  commercial  and  clerical  work  2,210 
Studies  of  household  arts  teaching  and  school  lunch 

administration  1,737 

Carried  forward  $21,559 

39 


Brought  forward  $21,559 

Industrial  education  for  street  and  steam  railroad 

employees  1,672 

Problems  of  education  for  department  store  employees  1,602 

Educational  problems  of  the  immigrant  1,454 

Studies  of  quahty,  condition,  and  cost  of  school  buildings  1,309 
Educational  provisions  for  mentally  and  physically 

exceptional  children  1,283 

Training,  tenure,  and  qualifications  of  the  teaching  staff  1 ,272 

Sources  and  administration  of  school  funds  1,218 
Provision  of   adequate   library  facilities   for  school 

children  1,165 
Study  of  local  adaptability  of  platoon  plan  of  school 

administration  1,153 
Industrial  education  for  workers  in  dressmaking  and 

millinery  1,146 
Problems  and  conditions  of  organization  and  admin- 
istration 1,144 
Wider  use  of  the  school  plant  and  educational  extension  1, 120 
Educational  possibilities  through  play,  recreation,  and 

athletics  1,056 
Medical  inspection  and  the  work  of  the  school  nurse  975 
Problems  of  census,  retardation,  elimination,  atten- 
dance, and  work  papers  932 
The  curriculum  and  the  course  of  study  922 
Summary  of  the  educational  inquiries  750 
Summary  of  the  industrial  inquiries  490 
Public  discussions  of  educational  problems  and  survey 

findings  3,143 

Private  conferences  on  survey  recommendations  3,048 

Total  $48,413 

PRINCIPAL  PURPOSES  FOR  WHICH  SURVEY  FUNDS 
WERE  SPENT 

Salaries,  subsistence,  and  traveling  expenses  of  spe- 
cialists and  staff  $31,343 
Printing  of  25  volumes  of  monograph  reports  10,078 
Wages  of  clerical  assistants  3,682 
Printing  of  blanks  and  forms,  oflBce  supplies,  and 

stationery  1,535 

Miscellaneous  office  expenses,  postage,  express,  and 

public  dinner  988 

Line  cuts,  half-tones,  photographs,  etc.  683 

Ten  per  cent  of  cost  of  permanent  equipment  used  by 

survey  104 

Total  $48,413 

40 


Survey  Staff 
The  identity  of  the  different  specialists  employed  by 
the  survey,  together  with  a  brief  statement  as  to  their 
experience  and  qualifications,  is  shown  in  the  follow- 
ing summary: 

Leonard  P.  Ayres,  Ph.B.,  A.M.,  Ph.D.  Director  of 
Survey.  Teaching  experience  in  first  four 
grades;  country  superintendent;  city  super- 
intendent; general  superintendent  of  schools 
for  Porto  Rico;  author  of  books  and  articles 
on  educational,  statistical,  and  scientific  sub- 
jects. Now  director  of  Division  of  Education 
and  director  of  Division  of  Statistics  of  Russell 
Sage  Foundation. 

May  Ayres,  S.  B.  (Ph.D.  pending).  School  Buildings 
and  Equipment  and  Health  Work  in  the  Public 
Schools.  Teaching  experience  in  grades 
and  university;  chief  of  Social  Service  De- 
partment, Psychological  CHnic,  University 
of  Pennsylvania;  research  worker,  Boston 
Psychopathic  Hospital;  special  agent,  Rus- 
sell Sage  Foundation;  author  of  Fire  Protec- 
tion in  PubHc  Schools;  co-author  of  Protect- 
ing School  Houses  from  Fire;  author  of  A 
Century  of  Schoolhouse  Construction;  co- 
author of  Text  Book  on  School  Hygiene.  Took 
part  in  school  surveys  of  Greenwich,  Connec- 
ticut, and  BrookUne,  Massachusetts.  Now 
graduate  student  at  Columbia  University. 

Franklin  Bobbitt,  A.B.,  Ph.D.  What  the  Schools 
Teach  and  Might  Teach.  Teaching  experience 
in  all  grades  of  rural  and  graded  schools; 
superintendent  of  schools;  principal  of  normal 
school;  director  of  school  surveys  of  South 
41 


Bend,  San  Antonio,  and  Denver;  specialist  in 
Illinois  State  Survey  and  Grand  Rapids  Sur- 
vey. Now  professor  of  educational  adminis- 
tration in  University  of  Chicago. 

Alice  C.  Boughton,  B.Sc,  A.M.  (Ph.D.  pending). 
Household  Arts  and  School  Lunches.  High 
school  and  university  teaching  experience; 
superintendent  elementary  school  lunches  of 
Philadelphia,  1907-15;  one  year  in  Europe  to 
study  school  lunches;  president  Philadelphia 
Home  Economics  Association,  1913-15;  chair- 
man School  Lunch  Committee,  American 
Home  Economics  Association;  author  of  nu- 
merous reports  and  articles.  Now  graduate 
student  at  Columbia  University. 

Edna  Bryner,  A.B.  The  Garment  Trades,  Dress- 
making and  Millinery.  Teaching  experience 
in  grades,  high  school,  normal  college.  Eu- 
genics research  worker.  New  Jersey  State 
Hospital;  statistical  expert  in  U.  S.  Bureau 
of  Labor  investigation  of  women  and  child 
labor;  statistical  agent  U.  S.  Post  Office 
Department.  Now  special  agent,  Russell 
Sage  Foundation. 

Earle  Clark,  LL.B.  Financing  the  Public  Schools. 
Teaching  experience  in  grades;  principal  of 
industrial  school;  municipal  judge;  statisti- 
cal assistant  Insular  Government  Porto  Rico; 
special  agent  U.  S.  Immigration  Commission; 
examiner,  U.  S.  Tariff  Board;  lecturer  on 
statistics  New  York  University;  author  of 
statistical  reports  on  immigration,  insanity, 
wages  and  labor  conditions,  index  prices,  in- 
surance, and  educational  costs.  Now  statis- 
tician, Russell  Sage  Foundation. 
42 


Ralph  D.  Fleming,  A.B.,  M.A.,  Ph.D.  Railroad  and 
Street  Transportation.  Special  agent  and  in- 
vestigator for  U.  S.  Immigration  Commission, 
the  Federal  Census  of  Manufactures,  the 
U.  S.  Tariff  Board,  the  Minimum  Wage  Com- 
mission of  Massachusetts,  the  National  Civic 
Federation,  the  U.  S.  Commission  on  Indus- 
trial Relations;  author  of  numerous  reports. 
Now  with  the  Alexander  Hamilton  Institute. 

Shattuck  O.  Hartwell,  A.B.,  M.Ped.,  LL.D.  Over- 
crowded Schools  and  the  Platoon  Plan.  Teach- 
ing experience  in  grades  and  Polytechnic  In- 
stitute; high  school  principal;  city  superin- 
tendent of  schools;  president  Michigan  State 
Teachers'  Association;  president  Michigan 
Association  of  City  Superintendents.  Now 
superintendent  of  schools,  Muskegon,  Michi- 
gan. 

Walter  A.  Jessup,  A.B.,  A.M.,  Ph.D.  The  Teaching 
Staff.  Teacher  in  elementary  school;  prin- 
cipal of  high  school ;  superintendent  of  town- 
ship school;  superintendent  of  city  schools; 
professor  of  pedagogy  in  college  and  univer- 
sity; state  high  school  inspector  of  Indiana; 
dean  of  the  School  of  Education  of  University 
of  Indiana;  dean  of  the  School  of  Education 
of  University  of  Iowa;  author  of  books  on 
supervision  and  arithmetic.  Now  president 
of  the  University  of  Iowa. 

George  E.  Johnson,  A.B.,  A.M.  Education  through 
Recreation.  Teacher  in  grades;  high  school 
principal;  city  superintendent  of  schools; 
college  professor;  superintendent  of  recrea- 
tion for  Pittsburgh;  author  of  books  and 
articles  on  play  and  education.  Now  assist- 
ant professor  of  education.  Harvard  University. 
43 


Charles  H.  Judd,  A.B.,  A.M.,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.  Meas- 
uring  the  Work  of  the  Public  Schools.  In- 
structor in  philosophy  Wesley  an  University; 
professor  of  psychology  New  York  Univer- 
sity; professor  of  psychology  and  pedagogy 
University  of  Cincinnati;  professor  of  psy- 
chology and  director  of  the  Psychological 
Laboratory  Yale  University;  professor  of 
education,  University  of  Chicago;  author  of 
books  and  articles  on  psychology  and  educa- 
tion. Now  director  School  of  Education, 
University  of  Chicago. 

R.  R.  Lutz,  Director  of  studies  in  industrial  education. 
The  Metal  Trades;  Wage  Earning  and  Educa- 
tion. Normal  school  graduate;  teaching  ex- 
perience in  rural  and  graded  schools;  super- 
intendent of  schools;  secretary  of  Depart- 
ment of  Education  of  Porto  Rico;  magazine 
editor;  took  part  in  school  surveys  of  Green- 
wich, Connecticut,  Bridgeport,  Connecticut, 
Springfield,  Illinois,  Richmond,  Virginia.  Now 
special  agent  Division  of  Education,  Russell 
Sage  Foundation. 

Adele  E,  McKinnie,  A.B.  Public  Library  and  the 
Public  School.  Eugenic  record  office  training 
for  field  work  in  eugenics;  special  investiga- 
tor in  eugenics  for  the  State  Board  of  Health  of 
Michigan;  investigator  in  the  survey  of  the 
Michigan  Eugenics  Commission  and  collabo- 
rator in  preparation  of  report;  special  agent  in 
eugenics  work  for  the  Michigan  Home  for 
Feebleminded.  Now  graduate  student  Colum- 
bia University. 

Herbert  A.  Miller,  A.B.,  A.M.,  Ph.D.     The  School 
and  the  Immigrant.     Instructor  at  Fisk  Uni- 
versity  and   in   Olivet   College.     Extensive 
44 


sociological  studies  in  Europe;  author  of 
treatises  on  nationalism,  immigration,  and 
race  problems.  Now  professor  of  sociology 
in  Oberlin  College. 

David  Mitchell,  B.A.,  A.M.,  Ph.D.  Provisions  for 
Exceptional  Children.  Lecturer  and  clinical 
psychologist.  Graduate  School  and  Psycho- 
logical CUnic,  University  of  Pennsylvania. 
Director  of  laboratory  experiments  in  mental 
tests  and  measurements.  Psychologist,  Ex- 
tension CHnics  for  Exceptional  Children  in 
Pennsylvania.  In  charge  investigation  into 
mental  qualifications  of  typists  and  stenog- 
raphers, Curtis  Publishing  Company.  Con- 
sultant Psychologist,  The  Municipal  Court  of 
Philadelphia.  Now  assistant  professor  of 
psychology.  University  of  Pennsylvania. 

Iris  P.  O'Leary,  Department  Store  Occupations.  Head 
of  manual  training  department.  First  Penn- 
sylvania Normal  School;  head  of  vocational 
work  for  girls  and  women,  New  Bedford  In- 
dustrial School;  head  of  girls'  department, 
Boardman  Apprentice  Shops,  New  Haven, 
Connecticut;  student  at  Drexel  Institute  and 
Columbia  University;  special  investigator  of 
department  stores  for  New  York  State  Fac- 
tory Investigating  Commission;  three  years' 
trade  experience  as  employer  and  employee; 
author  of  books  on  household  arts  and  de- 
partment stores.  Now  special  assistant  for 
vocational  education.  State  Department  of 
PubHc  Instruction,  New  Jersey. 

Clarence  Arthur  Perry,  B.S.    Educational  Extension. 

Teaching    experience    in    grades;     grammar 

school  principal;    industrial  school  principal; 

high  school  principal;    assistant  superinten- 

45 


dent  of  schools;  special  agent  U.  S.  Immi- 
gration Commission;  took  part  in  recreational 
survey  of  Springfield,  Illinois;  author  of  books 
and  articles  on  the  wider  use  of  the  school 
plant.  Now  associate  director,  Department 
of  Recreation,  Russell  Sage  Foundation. 

Frank  L.  Shaw,  A.B.,  LL.B.  The  Building  Trades; 
The  Printing  Trades.  Teaching  experience  in 
grades  and  high  school;  principal  of  high 
school;  assistant  superintendent  of  schools; 
superintendent  of  schools;  special  agent 
U.  S.  Immigration  Commission;  special  agent 
U.  S.  Census;  industrial  secretary  North 
American  Civic  League  for  Immigrants; 
special  agent  Salem  Fire  Relief  Committee; 
author  of  reports  on  immigration  legislation. 
Now  educational  statistician.  General  Edu- 
cation Board. 

Bertha  M.  Stevens,  A.B.  Boys  and  Girls  in  Com- 
mercial Work.  Teaching  experience  in  ele- 
mentary and  secondary  schools;  agent  of 
Associated  Charities;  secretary  of  Consumers* 
League  of  Ohio;  director  of  Girls'  Bureau 
of  Cleveland;  author  of  "Women's  Work 
in  Cleveland";  co-author  of  "Commercial 
Work  and  Training  for  Girls."  Now  director, 
United  Employment  Bureau  of  New  York 
City. 

The  nineteen  persons  whose  names  appear  in  the 
preceding  list  are  authors  or  co-authors  of  the  differ- 
ent volumes  of  the  survey  report.  In  addition  to 
the  studies  conducted  by  them  a  very  important 
part  of  the  survey  work  was  done  by  Messrs.  George 
S.  Counts,  Joseph  F.  Connelly,  and  William  S.  Gray 

46 


who  were  members  of  the  permanent  staff  of  the  sur- 
vey. Most  of  their  time  was  given  to  the  tests  and 
measurements  of  classroom  work.  Dr.  Counts  was 
especially  connected  with  the  spelUng  tests  and  the 
preparation  of  the  arithmetic  tests.  Mr.  Gonnelly 
compiled  the  material  showing  the  relationship  be- 
tween elementary  schools  and  high  schools.  Dr. 
Gray  prepared  the  material  on  reading.  They  did 
a  large  part  of  the  classroom  visiting.  All  three  of 
them  have  had  extensive  teaching  and  supervisory 
experience.  Dr.  Counts  is  now  Professor  of  Educa- 
tion in  the  State  College  of  Delaware;  Dr.  Gray  is 
Dean  of  the  School  of  Education  of  the  University  of 
Chicago;  Mr.  Gonnelly  is  Instructor  in  Education 
in  the  University  of  Chicago. 

In  addition  to  these  special  workers  the  following 
assistants  were  employed  for  different  lengths  of 
time: 

Violet  Glover,  secretary  to  the  director 
Robert  Goldsmith,  editorial  assistant 
Edith  M.  Crump,  draftsman 
Gertrude  Gouvy,  stenographer 
Ehzabeth  Greenslade,  stenographer 
Esther  Swartz,  stenographer 
Lorena  Knox,  clerk 
Marian  Rannells,  clerk 

Summary 
1.  The  Cleveland  education  survey  was  conducted 
by  the  Cleveland  Foundation  as  one  of  a  series  of 
investigations  of  the  conditions,  problems,  and  needs 
of  the  city. 

47 


2.  The  survey  work  began  in  April,  1915,  and  con- 
tinued through  June,  1916.  It  was  conducted  by  a 
permanent  survey  staff  and  by  special  assistants 
temporarily  employed.  The  entire  force  consisted 
of  30  persons  of  whom  22  were  specialists  and  eight 
were  office  assistants. 

3.  The  report  consists  of  a  series  of  25  bound 
monographs  each  of  which  is  a  complete  and  inde- 
pendent section  of  the  whole. 

4.  Before  publication  each  section  of  the  report 
was  put  into  tentative  final  form,  revised  by  the 
author  and  the  director,  and  submitted  to  careful 
study  and  discussion  by  a  conference  of  local  school 
people  and  the  members  of  the  survey  committee. 

5.  The  reports  were  given  to  the  pubUc  and  the 
newspapers  at  a  series  of  pubhc  luncheons  at  which 
the  different  educational  studies  involved  were  dis- 
cussed. 

6.  The  total  cost  of  the  survey  was  approximately 
$48,000. 


48 


CHAPTER  III 

GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS 

There  are  10  principal  factors,  or  sets  of  factors, 
in  addition  to  the  characteristics  of  the  children 
themselves,  that  determine  the  quality  of  results 
and  efficiency  of  work  of  a  school  system.  These 
10  principal  factors  are  the  following: 

1.  Legal  basis  of  the  system 

2.  Control  by  board 

3.  Professional  leadership  and  methods  of  super- 
vision 

4.  Financial  support 

5.  Business  management 

6.  Organization  of  system 

7.  Teaching  staff 

8.  Educational    aims,    courses    of    study,    and 
agencies 

9.  Plant  and  equipment 

10.  Community  standards  and  aspirations 

As  a  result  of  their  studies  of  the  Cleveland  school 
system,  the  Survey  Staff  believe  that  in  this  city  the 
most  effective  assets  of  the  school  system  are  to  be 
found  in  those  factors  that  are  numbered  5,  7,  9,  and 
10  in  the  list  above.  The  business  management  is 
honest  and  efl&cient.  The  teaching  staff  is  of  in- 
herently good  quality.  The  school  plant  is  of  ex- 
4  49 


ceptionally  high  grade.   The  community  genuinely 
desires  good  schools. 

With  respect  to  the  other  six  factors,  the  findings 
of  the  survey  have  recommended  readjustments 
that  would,  in  the  opinion  of  the  staff,  greatly 
strengthen  the  school  system  of  the  city  and  largely 
increase  its  effectiveness  for  community  service. 
As  a  brief  summary  of  the  more  important  points  in 
these  different  sorts  of  conclusions,  it  is  worth  while 
to  review  the  major  conclusions  under  each  of  the 
10  factors  that  have  been  mentioned. 


1.  Legal  Basis  of  the  System 
The  survey  has  recommended  four  important 
amendments  in  the  laws  which  constitute  the  legal 
basis  of  Cleveland's  school  system.  The  purposes  of 
these  changes  would  be:  first,  to  enable  the  Board  of 
Education  to  simplify  and  systematize  the  conduct 
of  its  business;  second,  to  separate  school  elections 
from  municipal  elections;  third,  to  secure  increased 
financial  support;  and  fourth,  to  extend  the  com- 
pulsory attendance  period  to  the  age  of  16  for  both 
boys  and  girls. 

The  first  three  of  these  recommended  changes  are 
discussed  in  the  sections  of  this  chapter  dealing  with 
board  control  and  financial  support.  The  reason 
for  recommending  that  the  compulsory  attendance 
period  be  extended  to  the  age  of  16  is  that  the  sur- 
vey's vocational  studies  have  shown  that  the  jobs 
that  industry  and  business  offer  children  under  that 

50 


age  are  so  few  and  so  undesirable  that  they  fall  far 
short  of  equaling  in  future  value  an  added  year  of 
school  life. 

2.  Control  by  Board 
There  is  ample  evidence  that  many  of  Cleveland's 
educational  troubles  have  their  origin  in  past  and 
prevaiUng  methods  of  board  control.  In  too  great 
measure  the  board  has  attempted  to  run  the  schools 
instead  of  getting  them  run.  It  has  tried  to  do  things 
instead  of  getting  them  done.  It  has  overlooked  the 
fundamental  principle  that  in  a  public  service  cor- 
poration poUcies  should  be  determined  by  the  board 
but  put  into  execution  by  the  professional  adminis- 
trative officers  employed  by  the  board.  The  board 
spends  so  much  of  its  time  deaUng  with  small  matters 
of  specific  application  that  it  has  httle  time  left  to 
devote  to  large  problems  of  general  policy. 

Because  of  these  conditions  there  prevails  through- 
out the  school  system  the  practice  of  putting  off  de- 
cisions wherever  possible  until  the  questions  involved 
can  be  referred  to  the  board.  The  board  really 
manages  the  schools  and  is  exceedingly  busy  deaUng 
with  the  details  involved.  From  these  conditions 
there  has  grown  up  a  general  lack  of  unity  of  educa- 
tional thought  and  action  that  has  become  a  tradi- 
tion and  habit  of  mind  in  the  city.  Authority  and 
responsibility  are  widely  scattered  and  vaguely  as- 
signed. Specialized  interests  are  permitted  to  domin- 
ate and  subordinate  concern  for  the  general  welfare 
of  the  schools  as  a  whole. 

61 


Part  of  the  reasons  for  the  conditions  described 
are  to  be  found  in  the  traditions  and  customs  of  the 
system  which  can  be  altered  by  board  action.  Part 
of  the  reasons  are  to  be  found  in  the  provisions  of  the 
state  law  which  allot  to  the  Board  of  Education  a 
multipUcity  of  duties  that  consume  the  time  and 
energy  of  the  board  members  and  seriously  restrict 
the  usefulness  of  the  board's  executives.  In  order  to 
remedy  this  situation  the  board  should  lend  its  sup- 
port to  every  wisely  considered  bill  introduced  in  the 
state  legislature  that  has  as  its  object  the  simplifica- 
tion and  systematizing  of  the  conduct  of  board  busi- 
ness. Without  waiting  for  legal  changes,  it  should 
make  a  careful  study  of  its  own  activities  with  the 
definite  purpose  of  condensing,  abridging,  and  dele- 
gating detail.  It  should  simplify  and  largely  abandon 
its  present  method  of  conducting  business  through 
committees.  The  city  should  seek  a  change  in  the 
state  law  so  as  to  provide  for  holding  school  elec- 
tions on  some  date  other  than  that  of  the  municipal 
elections. 

The  findings  of  the  survey  concerning  board  con- 
trol, its  descriptions  of  existing  conditions,  and  rec- 
ommendations as  to  legislative  and  internal  changes 
are  set  forth  in  the  survey  report  entitled  "School 
Organization  and  Administration." 

3.    Professional  Leadership  and  Methods 

OF  Supervision 

The  quality  of  education  of  the  city  schools  is  largely 

determined  by  the  leadership  that  directs  it.    It  is 

52 


as  true  in  a  school  system  as  it  is  in  every  other  form 
of  human  organization  that  the  character  of  the 
whole  is  largely  determined  by  the  people  at  the 
head.  Professional  leadership  is  mainly  exercised 
by  the  superintendent,  the  assistant  superintendents, 
the  supervisors,  the  high  school  principals,  and  the 
elementary  principals.  They  are  the  skilled  defenders 
of  the  interests  of  the  children.  The  survey  holds 
that  the  improvements  which  can  be  most  rapidly 
brought  about  and  which  will  prove  most  beneficial 
can  be  effected  through  improving  the  quality  of 
educational  leadership  exercised  by  all  these  different 
people. 

Through  the  reorganizations  already  advocated 
in  the  preceding  section  on  board  control  there  should 
be  brought  about  such  a  redistribution  of  the  work 
of  the  board  and  the  superintendent  that  each  can 
exercise  an  effective  and  appropriate  kind  of  leader- 
ship. The  city  rightly  and  naturally  looks  to  the 
board  as  representing  the  public,  the  taxpayers,  and 
the  parents,  and  to  the  superintendent  as  being  the 
expert  guardian  of  the  interests  of  the  children.  This 
does  not  mean  that  the  deliberative  work  of  the  board 
should  be  limited  to  telling  the  superintendent  what 
the  public  wants,  and  the  work  of  the  superintendent 
limited  to  putting  these  orders  into  execution.  In 
addition  to  his  work  as  executive,  the  main  business 
of  the  superintendent  is  to  think,  to  plan,  and  to 
propose,  and  the  business  of  the  board  is  to  make  de- 
cisions about  these  proposals.  The  superintendent 
should  receive  an  annual  salary  of  at  least  $10,000 

63 


so  that  Cleveland  may  compete  with  other  cities  of 
corresponding  and  smaller  size. 

Not  less  important  than  the  leadership  of  the 
superintendent  is  the  leadership  of  the  supervisors, 
the  high  school  principals,  and  the  elementary  prin- 
cipals. It  is  the  judgment  of  the  Survey  Staff  that 
supervision  falls  far  short  of  being  one  of  the  strong 
phases  of  the  school  system  of  the  city.  There  are 
principals  in  both  the  elementary  and  the  high 
schools  who  are  without  sufficient  training  for  their 
duties,  without  adequate  information  as  to  what  is 
going  on  about  them,  and  without  comprehensive 
grasp  of  educational  problems.  Many  of  the  ele- 
mentary principals  have  had  httle  contact  with  the 
current  educational  movements.  Many  of  them  have 
been  in  the  system  for  a  long,  long  time  and  are  con- 
ducting the  schools  today  on  the  basis  of  opinions 
about  school  organization  which  originated  before 
the  stirring  developments  in  education  that  have 
brought  about  new  and  better  equipped  buildings, 
an  enriched  course  of  study,  and  scientific  methods 
of  supervision.  Some  of  the  high  school  principals 
spend  too  much  time  and  energy  in  the  discussion  of 
problems  arising  out  of  competition  between  the 
different  high  schools.  The  type  of  educational  lead- 
ership that  expresses  itself  in  good  supervision  would 
unify  the  high  school  system  so  that  it  would  be- 
come a  cooperating  system  of  institutions. 

The  whole  situation  as  to  educational  leadership 
can  be  improved  by  replacing  some  of  the  least  able 
members  of  the  force  and  by  stimulating,  training, 

64 


and  guiding  others.  As  a  major  step  toward  this  end 
there  must  be  built  up  in  the  system  a  type  of  super- 
vision based  on  ascertained  fact  that  will  reveal  con- 
ditions and  aid  in  solving  problems  in  the  work  of 
instruction  throughout  the  city.  The  reason  why 
this  is  necessary  is  that  Cleveland  has  grown  too 
large  to  make  it  possible  for  its  schools  to  be  admin- 
istered by  the  same  sort  of  educational  machinery 
that  was  adequate  when  it  was  a  small  community. 
There  was  a  time  when  small  school  systems  and 
relatively  simple  courses  of  study  could  be  governed 
and  supervised  by  central  school  officials  who  could 
keep  all  the  activities  of  the  teachers  under  direct 
personal  observation.  Opinion  was  the  basis  of 
action.  That  time  has  passed.  In  a  system  of  more 
than  100  elementary  school  and  10  high  schools 
methods  of  supervision  must  be  worked  out  and  put 
in  operation  which  are  impersonal.  There  is  a 
special  technique  of  administrative  inquiry,  a  type 
of  continuous  self-survey  which  should  be  culti- 
vated in  the  school  system  as  it  is  being  cultivated 
in  all  great  business  concerns.  Money  spent  in  cen- 
tral administration  is  well  spent  if  it  produces  a 
system  of  scientific  general  supervision. 

The  conclusions  and  recommendations  dealing 
with  the  relation  of  the  superintendent  to  the  board 
are  discussed  in  the  report  on  "School  Organization 
and  Administration."  Those  dealing  with  the  work  of 
the  other  educational  officials  and  with  the  need  for 
scientific  supervision  are  to  be  found  in  the  volume 
on  "Measuring  the  Work  of  the  PubUc  Schools." 

55 


4.  Financial  Support 
The  one  outstanding  fact  in  connection  with  the 
financial  support  of  the  Cleveland  school  system  is 
that  it  is  inadequate.  For  several  years  past  the 
expenditures  of  the  Board  of  Education  have  been 
growing  more  rapidly  than  its  revenues.  As  a  result 
there  are  at  present  deficits  in  the  different  educa- 
tional funds;  the  board  is  forced  to  borrow  money 
to  meet  its  current  obhgations,  and  the  school  sys- 
tem has  to  resort  to  bond  issues  to  raise  money  for 
the  construction  of  new  buildings.  The  survey  finds 
the  administration  of  the  finances  honest  and  effi- 
cient. It  has  been  able  to  suggest  only  a  few  minor 
ways  by  which  economies  can  be  effected  or  revenues 
increased.  The  only  immediate  means  for  relieving 
this  situation  are  to  be  found  through  increases  in 
the  valuation  of  city  property  or  the  repeal  of  the 
present  state  law  which  limits  tax  rates.  The  board 
should  work  for  both  of  these  ends  but  with  a  reahza- 
tion  that  an  adequate  solution  can  be  secured  only 
through  legislation.  The  financial  problems  of  the 
system  are  extensively  treated  in  the  survey  volume 
entitled  "Financing  the  PubUc  Schools." 

5.  Business  Management 
The  business  department  of  the  Cleveland  school 
system  is  honestly  and  efficiently  conducted.  Its 
work  has  been  criticised  by  the  survey  on  two  counts. 
The  first  of  these  is  that  it  has  referred  to  the  Board 
of  Education  so  many  separate  matters  of  detail 

56 


that  it  has  been  seriously  expensive  of  the  time  of 
the  board.  This  has  been  partly  due  to  the  provi- 
sions of  the  school  law  and  partly  to  methods  which 
may  easily  be  modified  for  the  better. 

The  second  count  on  which  the  survey  has  criti- 
cised the  business  department  is  that  it  is  inde- 
pendent of  the  educational  work  and  is  rapidly  be- 
coming the  dominant  part  of  the  school  system. 
While  these  two  criticisms  are  well  founded,  the  fact 
remains  that  the  business  management  of  the  sys- 
tem is  so  markedly  efficient  that  it  constitutes  one  of 
the  real  and  important  assets  of  the  educational 
situation.  A  reorganization  could  be  readily  effected 
by  which  this  efficiency  could  be  retained  and  the 
grounds  for  criticism  eliminated.  The  facts  concern- 
ing the  business  management  of  the  system  are  set 
forth  in  the  volumes  entitled  "Financing  the  Pub- 
lic Schools,"  and  "School  Organization  and  Ad- 
ministration." 


6.  Organization  op  System 
No  form  of  organization  insures  efficiency,  but  there 
are  some  forms  which  make  efficiency  possible  and 
some  which  practically  preclude  it.  There  are  also 
forms  of  organization  of  every  intermediate  degree 
of  effectiveness.  The  organization  of  the  Cleveland 
system  falls  in  one  of  these  intermediate  classifica- 
tions. It  is  far  better  than  the  poorest  and  probably 
better  than  the  average  found  in  large  cities.  It  is 
not,  however,  so  effective  as  it  might  be.  Several  of 

67 


its  shortcomings  have  been  referred  to  in  the  pre- 
ceding sections. 

There  are  three  outstanding  weaknesses.  The  first 
is  that  the  activities  of  the  system  are  now  so  organ- 
ized and  administered  as  to  refer  to  the  board  a  great 
mass  of  details  that  should  be  attended  to  by  the 
executive  officers.  The  second  is  that  the  work  is 
organized  on  the  theory  that  the  board's  work  is  of 
two  separate  and  distinct  sorts — the  one  pertaining 
to  business  affairs  and  the  other  dealing  with  edu- 
cational affairs.  The  third  weakness  is  one  for  which 
the  second  is  largely  responsible.  It  is  that  through- 
out the  system  authority  and  responsibiUty  are 
widely  scattered  and  vaguely  assigned.  Chapter 
III  of  the  report  entitled  "School  Organization  and 
Administration"  deals  with  these  problems  and 
brings  together  evidence  from  the  reports  presented 
by  the  different  specialists  concerning  conditions 
found  in  their  several  fields  of  study,  and  illustrat- 
ing the  prevailing  indefiniteness  of  authority  and 
responsibility. 


7.  The  Teaching  Staff 
Among  the  most  valuable  assets  of  the  Cleveland 
system  must  be  included  the  teaching  staff.  For 
many  years  the  city  has  maintained  its  own  train- 
ing school  and  during  most  of  the  time  it  has  been 
an  unusually  efficient  institution.  It  has  trained  a 
large  proportion  of  the  teachers  in  the  elementary 
schools  and  some  of  those  in  the  high  schools.    A 

58 


considerable  number  of  the  teachers  have  come  from 
the  more  intelhgent  families  of  good  social  standing 
in  the  community.  There  are  evidences  that  in 
recent  years  there  has  been  some  stagnation  of  pro- 
fessional interest  and  it  is  unquestionably  true  that 
the  force  would  be  strengthened  by  bringing  in  well- 
trained  teachers  from  other  localities.  There  has 
been  too  much  "inbreeding"  of  the  teaching  staff. 
Nevertheless,  the  teachers  of  Cleveland  compare  very 
well  with  those  of  other  large  cities  in  so  far  as 
their  professional  preparation  and  inherent  personal 
qualifications  are  concerned.  Probably  the  greatest 
and  most  valuable  single  asset  that  the  city  has  is 
the  mutually  self-respecting  attitude  found  through- 
out the  schools  between  the  teachers  and  the  pupils. 
These  problems  and  conditions  are  treated  in  the 
survey  report  entitled  "The  Teaching  Staff." 

8.    Educational  Aims,  Courses  of  Study,  and 

Agencies 
As  one  of  the  10  factors  affecting  the  quaUty  and 
determining  the  efficiency  of  the  work  of  the  school 
system  it  is  clear  that  this  eighth  factor  has  an  inade- 
quate designation.  Its  title  should  be  sufficiently 
inclusive  to  embrace  the  educational  philosophy  be- 
hind all  that  the  system  does  and  the  means  by  which 
that  philosophy  finds  its  expression  in  such  educa- 
tional activities  as  the  high,  elementary,  and  even- 
ing schools,  medical  inspection,  school  lunches,  com- 
munity centers,  pubhc  lectures,  playgrounds,  and 

59 


all  the  rest.  It  should  include  the  curriculum  and 
the  course  of  study. 

Regarding  this  factor  in  this  all-inclusive  way  there 
is  one  major  criticism  which  the  survey  has  to  make 
and  several  minor  ones.  The  major  criticism  is  that 
the  professional  spirit  of  the  Cleveland  schools  is 
formahstic  and  conservative  rather  than  hberaUstic 
and  progressive.  The  fundamentally  social  point 
of  view  of  the  survey  is  that  effective  education  is 
preparation  for  adult  life  through  participation  in 
the  activities  of  life.  Since  the  work  of  the  schools 
is  to  fit  people  for  social  conditions  that  are  con- 
tinually changing  the  work  of  the  schools  must  cor- 
respondingly change.  Social  growth  is  never  com- 
plete; it  is  especially  rapid  in  our  generation.  Public 
education  must  grow  and  change  as  fast  as  social 
conditions  make  such  changes  necessary.  It  can 
never  be  complete,  crystaUized,  perfected. 

In  attempting  to  compare  what  Cleveland  does 
with  what  Cleveland  needs  the  intention  of  the  sur- 
vey has  been  to  present  the  disinterested,  detached 
view  of  the  outsider.  Although  it  cannot  know  as 
much  as  those  within  the  system  about  the  details 
of  the  work,  it  has  perhaps  been  able  to  get  the  per- 
spective of  these  changing  social  conditions  rather 
better  than  the  local  worker  just  because  its  mind  has 
not  been  filled  with  the  details  of  the  local  daily 
work. 

Looking  at  the  educational  work  of  Cleveland  from 
this  point  of  view,  the  survey  has  found  what  it  re- 
gards as  too  much  drill,  too  much  formalism,  and  a 

60 


too  close  adherence  to  tradition.  This  is  the  out- 
standing criticism  and  a  somewhat  general  one.  It 
is  best  expressed  in  the  survey  report  entitled  "What 
the  Schools  Teach  and  Might  Teach,"  which  con- 
siders in  detail  the  course  of  study. 

The  specific  and  detailed  criticisms  of  aims,  courses 
of  study,  and  agencies  are  to  be  found  in  several  of 
the  survey  reports.  A  most  important  one  is  in 
the  study  of  "The  School  and  the  Immigrant," 
which  recommends  an  entire  reorganization  of  the 
night  school  work.  Several  detailed  criticisms  as  to 
teaching  and  some  general  ones  are  included  in  the 
report  on  "Measuring  the  Work  of  the  Public 
Schools."  A  plea  for  a  more  progressive  program  in 
one  much  neglected  field  is  put  forward  in  the  report 
on  "Education  through  Recreation."  Hearty  com- 
mendation is  expressed  in  the  volume  on  "Health 
Work  in  the  Public  Schools,"  while  some  praise  and 
more  questions  are  to  be  found  in  the  volumes  on 
"Educational  Extension"  and  "Household  Arts  and 
School  Lunches."  Specific  criticisms  are  to  be  found 
in  the  eight  reports  on  vocational  education. 

9.  The  School  Plant  and  Equipment 
In  its  school  plant  Cleveland  possesses  another  of 
its  valuable  assets.  Its  buildings  are  evidences  of  a 
wise  and  progressive  policy  growing  in  accordance 
with  growing  educational  ideals.  All  its  buildings 
are  exceptionally  well  kept  up  and  its  older  build- 
ings have  been  modernized,  painted,  cleaned,  and 
kept  in  good  repair. 

61 


Precautions  against  panic  and  fire  are  unusually 
good.  There  is  probably  no  other  city  in  the  country 
so  large  and  so  old  as  Cleveland  where  the  danger  of 
fire  is  so  slight.  A  comparison  of  the  costs  of  the 
newer  buildings  with  those  in  other  cities  leads  to 
the  conclusion  that  Cleveland  is  erecting  modem 
sociahzed  school  buildings  at  a  moderate  cost  and  is 
receiving  large  values  in  return  for  its  investments. 
These  findings  are  set  forth  in  the  survey  report  en- 
titled "School  Buildings  and  Equipment." 


10.  Community  Standards  and  Aspirations 
The  members  of  the  Survey  Staff  are  unanimous  in 
their  conviction  that  Cleveland  genuinely  desires 
good  schools  and  is  determined  to  have  them.  This 
has  not  always  been  apparent  in  the  past  educational 
history  of  the  city.  Nevertheless  no  other  conclusion 
can  be  reached  by  any  one  who  studies  conditions 
carefully  enough  to  get  under  the  surface  of  things 
and  reach  those  subtler  truths  which  concern  the 
whole  community  and  which  constitute  the  materials 
for  straight  thinking  about  the  situation. 

Convincing  evidence  as  to  community  sentiment 
and  aspirations  with  respect  to  the  school  system  is 
afforded  by  the  hearty  cooperation  given  the  sur- 
vey and  the  unusual  and  sustained  interest  in  its 
findings.  The  spirit  of  self-examination  is  the  prod- 
uct of  civic  inteUigence  and  community  progress. 
Surveys  attract  slight  and  brief  attention  in  cities 
where  interest  in  education  is  dormant.    Where  so- 

62 


cial  progress  is  most  active  the  movement  for  self- 
examination  is  most  virile.  It  is  certain  that  there 
exists  in  Cleveland  at  the  present  time  an  enUghtened 
pubUc  opinion  about  pubhc  education. 

Summary 
1.  The  survey  recommends  four  important  changes 
in  state  legislation. 

2.  It  recommends  that  the  board  divest  itself  of 
routine  details  of  work  and  devote  its  efforts  to  decid- 
ing what  it  wants  done,  selecting  people  to  do  those 
things,  studying  results  to  see  how  well  they  are  being 
done,  and  to  telling  the  public  about  problems  faced 
and  progress  made. 

3.  The  survey  believes  that  the  greatest  single 
need  of  the  school  system  is  improved  professional 
leadership. 

4.  Financial  support  is  inadequate  and  must  be 
increased. 

5.  The  business  management  is  honest  and  efl&- 
cient. 

6.  Authority  and  responsibility  should  be  more 
definitely  located  and  assigned  throughout  the 
system. 

7.  The  teaching  staff  is  of  inherently  good  quality. 
It  needs  professional  stimulus. 

8.  The  spirit  of  the  system  is  formaUstic  and  con- 
servative. 

9.  The  school  plant  is  excellent. 

10.  The  community  genuinely  wants  good  schools 
and  is  determined  to  have  them. 

63 


CHAPTER  IV 

NEW  CONTRIBUTIONS  TO  EDUCATION 

The  work  of  the  survey  has  not  merely  consisted  in 
appljdng  to  conditions  in  Cleveland  the  standards, 
tests,  and  measurements  worked  out  elsewhere. 
One  result  of  bringing  together  so  large  a  force  of 
workers  as  composed  the  survey  staff  has  been  that 
in  several  cases  new  methods  of  testing  were  de- 
vised, new  educational  theories  formulated,  or  new 
principles  discovered.  These  original  contributions 
to  education  that  came  as  a  part  of  the  survey  work 
are  some  14  in  number.  They  are  of  widely  differing 
importance  and  they  relate  to  different  sorts  of  edu- 
cational problems.  Since  new  contributions  are  of 
special  importance  to  the  still  growing  and  rapidly 
maturing  science  of  education  it  is  worth  while  to 
review  in  this  chapter  the  more  important  ones  that 
the  Cleveland  survey  developed.  They  are  not  con- 
sidered in  the  order  of  their  importance. 


1.  The  Education  of  Exceptional  Children 
The  study  of  educational  provisions  for  exceptional 
children  emphasizes  the  fundamental  condition  that 
these  children  consist  of  two  great  groups  who  may 

64 


be  designated  as  the  socially  competent  and  the 
socially  incompetent.  The  socially  competent  con- 
sist of  all  those  who  are  of  normal  mentality  and  who 
will  spend  their  lives  in  association  with  normal 
people.  They  are  the  backward,  the  blind,  the  deaf, 
the  crippled,  the  foreign,  and  the  children  of  the 
open-air  classes.  Since  these  children  are  socially 
competent  and  are  to  spend  their  lives  in  competi- 
tion with  the  rest  of  us  they  should  be  educated  in 
special  classes  in  regular  schools  and  have  at  least 
part  of  their  work  in  the  regular  classes  with  the 
normal  children.  In  Cleveland  the  classes  for  the 
blind  have  for  some  years  been  so  conducted  to  the 
great  advantage  of  these  handicapped  children. 

The  socially  incompetent  children  consist  of  the 
feebleminded  and  the  epileptic  who  may  be  cared 
for  during  their  younger  years  by  the  public  schools, 
but  who  are  so  deficient  that  they  must  eventually 
be  placed  in  institutions.  The  duty  of  the  school 
system  is  to  prepare  these  children  for  self-support 
in  institutional  hfe,  and  the  most  reasonable  way  of 
doing  this  in  large  cities  is  to  segregate  them  in 
special  classes. 

Now  in  point  of  fact  American  school  systems  have 
generally  followed  just  the  reverse  plan.  They  have 
educated  these  socially  incompetent  in  special  classes 
in  regular  schools  and  have  segregated  such  socially 
incompetent  children  as  the  blind,  the  deaf,  and  the 
crippled  in  special  schools.  The  findings  of  the  sur- 
vey advocate  the  establishment  of  special  schools 
for  the  feebleminded  and  classes  in  the  regular  schools 
6  65 


for  the  mentally  normal.  These  conclusions  are  pre- 
sented in  the  report  entitled  "Schools  and  Classes 
for  Exceptional  Children." 


2.  The  Education  of  Immigra.nt  Children 
In  Cleveland  about  one-half  of  the  school  children 
come  from  non-English-speaking  homes.  In  a  ma- 
jority of  the  schools  the  children  from  non-English- 
speaking  homes  outnumber  those  from  English- 
speaking  homes.  It  would  thus  seem  on  first  con- 
sideration that  it  would  be  a  comparatively  simple 
matter  and  a  very  desirable  procedure  to  modify 
the  instruction  given  in  each  school  so  as  to  meet 
most  adequately  the  needs  of  the  pupils  of  the  dif- 
ferent foreign  nationalities.  Both  in  Cleveland  and 
elsewhere  it  has  been  strongly  urged  that  a  separate 
scheme  of  instruction  be  developed  to  meet  the  needs 
of  the  children  of  each  important  national  group. 

A  careful  analysis  of  the  facts  as  to  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  children  of  the  different  nationalities 
through  the  grades,  the  rooms,  and  the  schools  of 
the  Cleveland  system  conclusively  demonstrated 
that  such  plans  are  administratively  impractical. 
The  reason  for  this  is  that  the  group  of  children  from 
non-Enghsh-speaking  homes  is  exceedingly  complex. 
Taken  altogether  they  outnumber  those  from  Eng- 
lish-speaking homes,  but  there  is  no  educational  basis 
on  which  they  can  be  taken  together.  These  chil- 
dren from  non-EngUsh-speaking  homes  belong  to 
more  than  50  different  nationalities  and  they  speak 

66 


p 


a  great  variety  of  languages  and  dialects.  In  many 
of  the  classrooms  of  Cleveland  there  are  pupils  of  a 
dozen  different  nationalities.  In  a  great  majority 
of  the  classrooms  of  the  city  the  largest  single  group 
is  made  up  of  children  from  Enghsh-speaking  homes. 
In  only  a  few  cases  are  there  classes  in  which  prac- 
tically all  of  the  children  are  of  the  same  nationahty 

EAGLE  SCHOOL  TBEMOHT  SCHOOL 

23  ■Albanian..  1 0 
3.1  Anaenlan  ■  ■  lO 

2|  Bohemian  •  •  1 10 

26  ■  Engli  eh  ■  ■ .  ■■^■■■■■■1  276 

01  Trench II 

6|  Oermaji ....  ■■■■^^■B  202 

91  Greek |U 

22HHebrew....|l 
lUl  Hungarian .  120 
|Iteaiaa...B22 
01  Lithuanian  117 

3]  Horse 10 

23B  Polish ....  i^BHHI^^HHMHBHHBiUsj 

3l  Roumanian  .  10 

16  ■  Russian . .  ■  iH^^^BH^^BHMHHi>«U3 

2|Ruthenlan.Bl9 

01  Scotch \k 

01  Servian . . • \l 

Slovak ....  i^HHB^^^l^^Hi  266 
It-I  Slovenian  .  1 1 

01  Spanish...  1 2 

89BHH  Syrian 10 

2|  Welsh 10 

21  Yiddish...  I  >» 

Diagram  6. — Distribution  of  pupils  by  nationalities  in  two  ele- 
mentary schools 

and  these  classes  seldom  hold  together  for  more  than 
a  single  term.  In  most  cases  it  was  found  that  the 
teachers  and  principals  themselves  were  unaware 
of  the  extremely  cosmopolitan  character  of  their 
classes.  In  many  cases  they  knew  that  their  pupils 
were  largely  Italian,  or  PoHsh,  or  Hungarian,  but 
did  not  realize  that  they  represented  perhaps  a  dozen 

67 


different  languages.  Something  of  the  complexity 
of  the  problem  is  indicated  by  Diagram  6,  which 
shows  the  distribution  of  pupils  by  nationalities  in 
two  of  the  larger  elementary  schools. 

This  same  method  of  analysis  may  well  be  applied 
in  a  large  range  of  educational  situations  in  which  it 
is  advocated  that  the  instruction  be  modified  to  meet 
the  special  needs  of  individuals  and  groups.  Under 
present  forms  of  educational  organization  this  can 
be  done  only  where  those  individuals  or  groups  can 
be  brought  together  in  sufficiently  large  numbers 
to  form  fair-sized  classes  that  are  homogeneous  in 
composition.  In  the  case  in  point  the  analysis 
brought  to  fight  the  most  unexpected  conclusion 
that  the  largest  single  group  in  almost  all  the  class- 
rooms was  made  up  of  children  from  Engfish-speak- 
ing  homes,  although  they  form  a  minority  of  the 
whole  number  of  children.  These  findings  are  dis- 
cussed in  the  report  entitled  "The  School  and  the 
Immigrant." 


3.  Boys  and  Girls  in  Commercial  Work 
In  the  study  of  education  for  wage  earning  in  com- 
mercial and  clerical  work  an  analysis  of  some  thou- 
sands of  ofiice  positions  held  by  men  and  women, 
boys  and  girls  demonstrated  with  great  clearness  that 
modem  commercial  work  of  men  is  an  entirely  differ- 
ent thing  from  the  commercial  work  of  women. 
With  perfect  definiteness  the  records  show  that  the 
requirements  of  work,  the  lines  of  promotion,  and  the 

68 


necessary  preparation  are  of  one  sort  for  the  boys 
and  men  and  of  another  and  essentially  different  sort 
for  the  girls  and  women.  These  are  facts  which  our 
school  systems  have  overlooked  in  planning  their 
high  school  courses  in  commercial  work.  The  evi- 
dence in  support  of  these  conclusions  is  presented  in 
the  report  entitled  "Boys  and  Girls  in  Commercial 
Work." 


4.  An  Actuarial  Basis  for  Industrial  Educa- 
tion 
During  recent  years  educational  leaders,  school 
teachers,  and  the  general  public  have  come  to  think 
of  the  carpenter  shop,  the  machine  shop,  the  forge 
room,  and  the  cooking  room  as  necessary  and  desir- 
able adjuncts  of  the  modern  school  and  to  their 
minds  these  shops  have  typified  industrial  educa- 
tion. Very  generally  it  has  been  felt  that  the  prob- 
lems of  industrial  education  were  to  be  solved  through 
the  wider  extension  of  these  shop  facilities  in  our 
pubUc  schools. 

When  the  survey  submitted  these  familiar  general- 
izations to  careful  analysis  their  whole  structure 
began  to  totter.  In  Cleveland  about  3,700  boys 
leave  school  each  year  and  go  to  work.  They  repre- 
sent various  stages  of  advancement  from  the  fourth 
grade  of  the  elementary  school  to  the  fourth  grade  of 
the  high  school.  They  are  scattered  through  more 
than  100  school  buildings.  The  problem  of  indus- 
trial education  is  to  prepare  these  boys  with  their 

69 


differing  ages,  their  widely  varied  school  preparation 
and  their  scattered  geographical  distribution  to  take 
their  places  in  the  work-a-day  world.  They  repre- 
sent every  grade  of  intelligence  and  every  stratum 
of  social  and  economic  life.  They  are  scattered  in 
little  groups  through  more  than  1,000  classrooms. 

Now  almost  all  these  boys  are  of  American  birth 
and  it  is  certain  that  in  a  few  years  they  will  be  en- 
gaged in  doing  just  about  the  same  sorts  of  work  as 
are  now  done  in  Cleveland  by  adults  of  American 
birth.  Census  data  show  us  that  among  every  100 
American-bom  men  in  Cleveland  there  are  eight  who 
are  clerks,  seven  who  are  machinists,  four  who  are 
salesmen,  three  who  are  carpenters,  and  so  on  through 
the  list  of  hundreds  of  occupations.  Even  these 
simple  facts  at  once  call  into  question  all  the  standard 
assumptions  about  the  extension  of  industrial  edu- 
cation depending  on  increasing  the  number  of  car- 
penter shops  and  machine  shops  in  the  public  schools. 
Among  each  100  American  men  only  seven  are 
machinists  and  three  are  carpenters.  Clearly  then 
we  should  not  be  justified  in  training  all  the  boys  in 
our  public  schools  to  enter  the  machine  trade  or  the 
carpenter  trade  when  nine  out  of  each  10  will  in  all 
probability  engage  in  entirely  different  sorts  of  future 
work. 

Again  a  study  of  other  similar  figures  shows  that 
the  10  leading  occupations  include  only  41  out  of 
each  100  American-born  men.  Moreover,  more 
than  half  of  these  41  are  engaged  in  mental  work 
rather  than  in  manual  work.    The  more  such  figures 

70 


are  studied  the  clearer  it  appears  that  our  conven- 
tional ideas  about  industrial  education  need  critical 
scrutiny  and  careful  challenge.  A  beginning  in  both 
directions  has  been  made  in  the  Cleveland  survey. 
The  results  are  presented  in  a  summary  report  en- 
titled "Wage  Earning  and  Education." 


5.  Expenditures  for  Educational  and  for 
Business  Purposes 
The  study  of  Cleveland's  school  finances  introduced 
a  novel  feature  in  classifying  the  expenditures  in  two 
distinct  groups.  One  included  the  items  having  a 
direct  bearing  upon  the  instruction  of  pupils,  such  as 
expenditure  for  teachers'  salaries,  supervision,  sta- 
tionery, and  other  classroom  supplies.  In  the  other 
group  were  included  expenses  for  creating  and  keep- 
ing in  operation  the  school  plant  and  conducting  the 
administration  offices.  When  these  two  groupings 
were  worked  out  for  Cleveland  and  17  other  cities  of 
comparable  size  the  fact  came  to  light  that  different 
cities  follow  the  most  diverse  poficies  with  respect  to 
dividing  their  incomes  between  business  purposes 
and  educational  purposes.  Three  cities  are  es- 
pecially noteworthy.  St.  Louis,  Pittsburgh,  and 
Cleveland  are  evidently  following  the  policy  of  de- 
voting to  their  business  activities  much  higher  pro- 
portions of  their  incomes  than  do  the  other  cities. 
These  facts  are  clearly  brought  to  light  in  Diagram  7 
in  which  the  lengths  of  the  black  bars  are  proportion- 
ate to  the  number  of  cents  that  each  city  devotes  to 

71 


business  purposes  for  each  dollar  that  it  spends  for 
educational  purposes.  These  conditions  are  pre- 
sented in  the  report  entitled  "Financing  the  PubUc 
Schools." 


raccisnr,  stj 


Diagram  7. — Number  of  cents  that  each  of  18  city  school 
systems  devotes  to  business  purposes  for  each  dollar  that  it 
spends  for  educational  purposes 


6.  The  Platoon  Plan 
One  of  the  most  interesting  reports  of  the  survey  is 
the  volume  on  the  platoon  plan,  which  is  the  name 

72 


applied  to  the  Gary  idea  as  modified  for  use  in  estab- 
lished school  systems  and  as  now  being  applied  ex- 
perimentally in  several  of  the  Cleveland  buildings. 
In  this  report  the  author  has  rendered  a  service  by 
formulating  for  the  first  time  a  clearly  stated  analysis 
of  what  the  Gary  plan  for  using  school  space  really  is. 
It  shows  that  it  is  not  a  single  plan,  but  rather  a  com- 
bination of  five  varying  factors  which  may  be  stated 
as  follows: 

1.  Shops,   gymnasiums,   and  an  auditorium   are 

added  to  the  school  building;    playgrounds 
and  school  gardens  are  provided  outside. 

2.  Through  administrative  readjustments  all  spe- 

cial rooms  as  well  as  all  classrooms  are  used 
throughout  the  school  day. 

3.  Several  classes  are  accommodated  simultane- 

ously in  auditoriums  and  gymnasiums. 

4.  Different  groups  of  children  come  to  school  at 

different  hours. 

5.  Libraries,  churches,  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  etc.,  are 

allied  with  the  schools  to  the  extent  of  caring 
for  part  of  the  children  part  of  the  time. 

With  this  analysis  as  a  basis  the  author  goes  on  to 
show  the  degree  to  which  each  factor  may  be  utilized 
in  effecting  economies  and  the  practical  possibiUties 
and  limitations  of  combining  them.  These  findings 
are  presented  in  the  report  entitled  "Overcrowded 
Schools  and  the  Platoon  Plan." 

7.  Comparative  Costs  of  School  Buildings 
The  report  on  the  school  plant  makes  available  for 
the  first  time  comparative  figures  on  the  cost  of  school 

73 


buildings  in  different  cities  reduced  to  the  same  basis 
so  as  to  render  the  figures  for  one  locality  comparable 
with  those  for  other  localities.  Such  comparisons 
are  rendered  especially  difficult  because  buildings  are 
erected  from  different  plans  and  composed  of  differ- 
ent sorts  of  materials.  Moreover,  there  is  no  single 
satisfactory  unit  of  cost  comparison.  The  survey 
met  this  difficulty  in  some  measure  by  securing  de- 
tails concerning  the  construction  and  costs  of  46 
recently  erected  schools  in  five  different  cities,  re- 
ducing the  figures  as  nearly  as  possible  to  a  com- 
parable basis,  and  then  making  six  different  sets  of 
cost  comparisons  and  finally  combining  them  all. 
It  is  beUeved  that  these  methods  are  not  only  su- 
perior to  those  that  have  been  heretofore  available, 
but  that,  by  developing  and  perfecting  them,  still 
more  valuable  units  can  be  secured  that  will  be  of 
value  for  other  localities.  The  findings  are  reported 
in  the  volume  entitled  "School  Buildings  and  Equip- 
ment." 

8.  The  Purchase  of  Textbooks 
In  Cleveland,  as  in  many  other  cities,  it  is  the  general 
conviction  of  people  who  have  accurate  knowledge 
of  local  conditions  that  the  interests  of  textbook  pub- 
lishing firms  have  been  a  powerful  force  in  control- 
hng  school  elections  and  influencing  appointments. 
Some  of  the  charges  made  are  substantiated  by  re- 
liable evidence.  In  other  cases  it  is  clear  that  the 
power  of  such  influences  has  been  greatly  exagger- 
ated. In  general  the  whole  situation  is  left  largely  in 
74 


the  dark  because  charges  and  countercharges  are 
freely  made  and  no  definite  facts  brought  forward  to 
support  the  claims  of  either  side. 

In  reporting  on  the  administration  of  the  Cleve- 
land system  the  survey  presented  in  detail  all  the 
more  important  facts  concerning  textbook  purchases 
from  the  leading  pubUshers  during  the  past  14  years. 
The  study  showed  in  an  impressive  way  that  fluc- 
tuations in  the  amount  of  business  done  with  the 
different  firms  have  been  coincident  with  changes  in 
the  educational  administration  of  the  system.  These 
comparisons  are  presented  in  the  volume  entitled 
"School  Organization  and  Administration, "  and  the 
principal  table  and  diagram  are  reproduced  in  the 
summary  of  that  report  which  is  Chapter  XIX  of  the 
present  volume. 


9.  The  Pension  Fund  and  Teachers  who  Enter 

Late 
The  report  on  the  teaching  staff  introduced  an  in- 
novation in  making  a  study  of  the  probable  effect 
on  the  city  pension  fund  of  bringing  into  the  system 
outside  teachers  who  are  no  longer  young.  By 
means  of  studies  based  on  actuarial  tables  it  showed 
that  the  probabilities  are  that  the  city  will  pay  in 
present  salaries  and  future  pensions  about  $200  more 
for  each  year  of  teaching  service  rendered  by  each  of 
the  teachers  it  is  now  bringing  in  from  the  outside 
than  it  would  pay  for  corresponding  service  rendered 
by  younger  people,  such  as  the  comparatively  recent 

75 


graduates  of  its  own  or  other  normal  schools.  The 
principles  involved  have  large  importance  for  every 
city  that  has  a  pension  fund  and  follows  the  policy 
of  recruiting  its  teaching  force  in  some  measure  from 
outside  sources.  These  findings  are  reported  in  the 
volume  entitled  "The  Teaching  Staff." 


10.  Speed   and   Quality   in   Handwriting   and 

Reading 
The  survey  developed  a  method  by  which  to  measure 
and  record  for  each  school  the  progress  made  from 
grade  to  grade  in  both  speed  and  quality  in  subjects 
where  both  elements  enter  as  factors  in  achievement. 
The  new  method  was  appUed  to  results  in  handwrit- 
ing and  reading.  Formerly  the  records  of  speed 
and  quality  have  been  made  separately  and  not 
simultaneously.  By  this  new  device  the  teachers 
and  principals  of  any  school  can  readily  see  whether 
or  not  their  classes  are  making  the  sort  of  satisfac- 
tory progress  that  does  not  sacrifice  speed  to  quaUty 
or  quality  to  speed,  but  rather  goes  forward  in  both  of 
them. 

Moreover,  the  survey  discovered  and  mapped  out 
the  neutral  ground  between  speed  and  quaUty  in 
handwriting.  In  general  children  who  write  rapidly 
write  poorly  and  those  who  write  well  write  slowly. 
Nevertheless  there  is  a  point  to  which  quaUty  may  be 
developed  without  reducing  speed  and  a  point  to 
which  speed  may  be  increased  without  hurting  qual- 
ity.   The  survey  discovered  these  points  for  Cleve- 

76 


land  for  each  grade.  All  these  findings  are  pre- 
sented in  the  volume  entitled  "Measuring  the  Work 
of  the  Public  Schools,"  and  diagrams  illustrating 
combined  speed  and  progress  records  are  reproduced 
in  the  summary  of  that  report  contained  in  Chapter 
VIII  of  the  present  volume. 


11.  Standardized  Tests  in  Reading 
In  conducting  its  series  of  careful  and  extensive 
studies  of  reading  the  survey  developed  a  series  of 
standardized  tests  that  constitute  a  measure  for 
oral  reading.  For  the  most  part  the  tests  themselves 
had  been  used  previously  and  developed  elsewhere, 
but  they  had  not  been  standardized  and  compiled 
into  a  reliable  measuring  instrument.  In  the  course 
of  the  Cleveland  work  it  was  possible  to  do  this 
because  of  the  advantages  offered  by  the  unusual 
extent  and  comprehensive  nature  of  the  work  that 
was  made  possible  in  this  large  city.  The  use  made 
of  these  reading  tests  is  described  in  the  volume  en- 
titled "Measuring  the  Work  of  the  Public  Schools," 
and  the  details  as  to  their  development  are  explained 
in  the  Appendix  of  the  same  volume.  The  survey 
emphasized  the  central  importance  of  reading  in  the 
curriculum. 


12.  A  Spiral  Test  in  Arithmetic 
For  the  purposes  of  the  Cleveland  survey  a  new 
series  of  tests  was  devised  for  measuring  arithmetical 

77 


accomplishments  and  progress  from  grade  to  grade. 
The  chief  advantage  of  this  new  test  is  that  it  is  a 
better  instrument  for  educational  diagnosis  than 
former  tests  have  been.  It  analyzes  progress  in  the 
arithmetical  processes.  It  tests  each  child  in  the 
very  simplest  forms  of  each  fundamental  arithmetical 
operation.  It  then  retests  him  in  a  slightly  more 
complex  form  of  the  same  fundamental  operation. 
A  third  time  and  fourth  time  it  takes  the  child 
through  exercises  involving  the  same  operations,  and 
each  time  it  adds  the  new  complexities  that  are  de- 
manded by  more  advanced  work.  Because  of  this 
spiral  nature  of  the  test  the  records  indicate  just 
where  any  individual  child  begins  to  get  into  difficulty 
in  performing  each  fundamental  sort  of  arithmetical 
operation.  This  test  and  its  applications  are  ex- 
plained in  the  volume  entitled  "Measuring  the  Work 
of  the  Public  Schools." 

13.  Analysis  of  Failures  in  School  Subjects 
For  the  first  time  in  survey  work  non-promotions 
have  been  made  the  subject  of  critical  study.  They 
have  been  analyzed  by  grades,  by  particular  subjects 
of  instruction,  and  by  individual  schools.  The 
results  indicate  that  failures  increase  with  school 
training,  that  certain  subjects  cause  so  many  failures 
that  it  is  perfectly  certain  that  these  subjects  ought 
to  be  taught  in  a  different  way,  and  that  different 
schools  in  the  system  are  discordant  in  their  prac- 
tices and  need  more  nearly  adequate  supervision. 
These  methods  and  findings  are  reported  in  the  first 

78 


chapter  of  the  volume  entitled  "Measuring  the  Work 
of  the  Pubhc  Schools." 


14.  Relation  of  High  Schools  to  Rest  of 
System 
The  survey  introduced  an  innovation  in  devoting 
some  60  pages  of  one  report  to  a  study  of  the  rela- 
tions existing  between  the  high  schools  of  the  city 
and  the  rest  of  the  school  system.  One  principal 
feature  of  this  study  consisted  in  the  use  of  a  statis- 
tical device  for  studying  the  relationship  between  the 
elementary  schools  and  the  high  schools.  The  de- 
vice itself  was  not  developed  in  the  course  of  the 
Cleveland  work,  but  it  was  there  utilized  on  an  ex- 
tensive scale  for  the  first  time.  The  importance  of 
the  study  of  high  school  conditions  and  relationships 
was  demonstrated  by  the  nature  of  the  results  which 
emphasized  the  great  need  of  a  more  intimate  ce- 
menting of  elementary  schools  and  high  schools  and 
of  more  consistent  achievements  by  the  different 
high  schools  and  closer  cooperation  between  them. 
These  findings  are  presented  in  the  last  two  chapters 
of  "Measuring  the  Work  of  the  Public  Schools." 


Summary 
1.  During  the  conduct  of  the  survey  some  14  new 
contributions  to  educational  knowledge  were  de- 
veloped that  are  considered  of  sufficient  importance 
to  deserve  special  mention. 

79 


2.  Four  of  these  relate  to  the  organization  of  the 
curriculum  and  concern  the  education  of  exceptional 
children,  the  education  of  immigrant  children,  the 
education  in  commercial  subjects,  and  the  organiza- 
tion of  industrial  education. 

3.  Five  new  methods  and  sets  of  facts  have  been 
developed  in  the  field  of  educational  administration. 
These  relate  to  comparisons  of  expenditures  for 
business  and  educational  purposes,  to  the  working 
of  duplicate  school  plans,  to  units  of  cost  for  school 
buildings,  to  factors  affecting  the  purchase  of  school 
textbooks,  and  to  the  effect  on  the  pension  fund  of 
the  employment  of  outside  teachers. 

4.  Five  new  steps  were  taken  in  the  measurement 
of  school  work.  These  relate  to  improved  methods 
for  recording  accomplishment  in  handwriting  and 
reading,  the  development  of  a  new  measure  for  oral 
reading,  the  devising  of  a  new  series  of  tests  for  meas- 
uring and  analyzing  accomplishment  in  arithmetic, 
methods  for  analyzing  the  records  of  non-promotion, 
and  methods  and  devices  for  studying  the  relation- 
ships existing  between  the  high  schools  and  the  rest 
of^the  school  system. 


80 


CHAPTER  V 

CHILD  ACCOUNTING  IN  THE  PUBLIC 
SCHOOLS 

(Leonard  P.  Ayres) 

Every  year,  in  the  month  of  May,  Cleveland  counts 
its  children  of  school  age  (six  to  21)  and  finds  out 
which  ones  are  attending  public  school,  parochial 
school,  private  school,  or  no  school.  According  to 
law,  all  children  between  the  ages  of  eight  and  15 
should  be  in  school,  but  nobody  knows  whether 
they  are  or  not,  because  the  returns  of  the  yearly 
census  are  not  tabulated  so  as  to  tell  the  essential 
facts  about  the  children  of  any  given  age.  For  1915, 
the  returns  tell  us  that  there  are  about  171,000  chil- 
dren of  school  age  in  the  district,  that  nearly  88,000 
of  them  are  in  public  schools,  34,000  in  parochial 
and  private  schools,  and  more  than  49,000  are  not 
in  any  school.  This  last  group  is  largely  made  up  of 
those  who  are  not  of  compulsory  attendance  age. 

Each  year  after  the  census  has  been  taken  the 
city  reports  to  the  state  the  number  of  children  of 
school  age  who  were  enumerated,  and  receives  about 
$2.00  from  state  funds  for  each  one  so  reported. 
This  is  almost  the  only  use  made  of  the  census  re- 
turns. Each  year  much  valuable  information  is 
6  81 


gathered  at  large  expense  but  the  figures  are  not  so 
tabulated  as  to  yield  the  important  information 
that  they  contain. 

The  census  returns  should  be  tabulated  so  as  to 
show  how  many  boys  and  girls  of  each  age  are  in 
each  kind  of  school  or  in  no  school.  This  would  make 
it  possible  to  check  up  the  effectiveness  with  which 
the  compulsory  education  laws  are  being  enforced, 
for  it  would  show  how  many  boys  and  girls  of  each 
compulsory  attendance  age  were  not  attending 
school.  At  present  the  returns  are  not  so  tabulated. 


Accuracy  of  School  Census 
According  to  the  evidence  of  the  United  States 
Census,  the  Cleveland  school  census  has  seriously 
fallen  short  of  enimierating  all  the  children  of  school 
age.  These  shortages  appear  to  aggregate  about 
79,000  in  the  past  six  years.  Since  the  city  re- 
ceives about  $2.00  from  state  funds  for  each  child 
enumerated,  these  shortages  are  equivalent  to  seri- 
ous financial  losses,  amounting  to  more  than  $150,000 
in  the  past  six  years.  Recent  improvements  in  meth- 
ods of  taking  the  school  census  are  rapidly  bettering 
these  conditions. 


Number  of  Children  in  Public  Schools 
In  the  spring  of  1915  the  school  system  enumerated 
nearly  6,000  more  pupils  as  being  in  the  public 
schools  than  the  schools  reported  as  being  enrolled 

82 


at  that  time.  This  is  a  serious  discrepancy  which 
is  probably  to  be  accounted  for  in  three  ways.  In 
the  first  place  a  few  of  these  extra  pupils  were  prob- 
ably six-year-old  children  enrolled  in  the  public 
kindergartens.  In  the  second  place  it  is  probable 
that  there  are  serious  inaccuracies  in  the  census  due 
to  a  failure  to  verify  the  returns  by  comparing  them 
with  the  school  records.  The  third  and  most  impor- 
tant reason  for  the  discrepancy  is  probably  to  be 
found  in  the  Cleveland  practice  of  dropping  a  child 
from  the  roll  as  soon  as  he  has  been  absent  for  three 
consecutive  days.  This  removes  him  from  the  school 
record,  but  does  not  prevent  his  parent  from  report- 
ing to  the  census  officer  that  he  is  still  attending 
public  school.  Whatever  the  causes  of  this  dis- 
crepancy may  be,  it  is  clear  that  the  census  figures 
should  be  regularly  checked  with  the  school  records 
so  as  to  discover  and  eliminate  such  errors  in  the 
future. 


A  More  Accurate  and  Useful  Census 
There  should  be  established  in  the  offices  of  the  Board 
of  Education  a  permanent  Division  of  School  Census 
in  charge  of  a  thoroughly  competent  census  clerk. 
This  office  should  be  charged  with  the  duty  of  tak- 
ing a  truly  complete  and  accurate  census  annually. 
The  work  of  this  office  should  be  closely  coordinated 
with  that  of  the  truant  officer.  The  office  should  pre- 
pare maps  showing  the  increase  or  decrease  of  child 
population  in  the  different  districts  of  the  city.  This 

83 


infonnation  should  be  used  as  an  aid  in  shaping  the 
building  policy  of  the  school  system. 

Since  the  city  receives  from  the  state  about  $2.00 
for  each  child  enumerated,  complete  accuracy  and 
eflficiency  in  the  work  will  result  in  increasing  this 
income  by  an  amount  much  in  excess  of  the  salary 
costs  involved. 


Ages  at  Which  Pupils  Leave  School 
The  number  of  boys  and  girls  of  each  age  enrolled 
in  the  public  schools  in  June,  1915,  is  shown  in  Table 
1  and  Diagram  8.  In  the  diagram  the  upright  col- 
umns are  proportionate  to  the  number  of  pupils 
at  each  age.  The  portion  in  outline  in  each  case 
represents  the  boys  and  that  in  black  the  girls. 

From  the  age  of  seven  to  the  age  of  10  there  is  a 
steady  falling-off  of  pupils  at  each  age.  This  is  due 
to  the  fact  that  there  are  fewer  children  in  the  schools 
as  well  as  fewer  in  the  city  at  each  upper  age  than 
at  each  lower  one.  The  number  of  pupils  in  school 
at  the  ages  of  11,  12,  and  13  is  almost  exactly  con- 
stant. At  the  age  of  14  there  is  a  distinct  falling-oflf, 
indicating  that  not  a  few  children  anticipate  the 
conclusion  of  the  compulsory  attendance  period  and 
drop  out  of  school  without  waiting.  At  the  age  of 
16  there  is  a  notable  falling-off  in  numbers,  and  the 
impressive  feature  of  this  falling-ofif  is  that  it  is  as 
great  for  the  girls  as  it  is  for  the  boys.  This  reveals 
an  important  situation,  for  the  compulsory  atten- 
dance law  requires  all  girls  to  remain  in  school  up  to 

84 


TABLE    1.— PUPILS    ENROLLED    IN    PUBLIC    ELEMENTARY. 
HIGH  AND  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  JUNE,  1916 


Agfi 


Boys 


Girls 


Total 


6 
7 
8 
9 
10 

11 
12 
13 
14 
16 

16 
17 
18 
19 
20 

Over  20 


4,255 
5,012 
4,496 
4,268 
4,093 

3,747 
3,700 
3,676 
3,445 
2,35S 

1,190 

672 

403 

135 

41 


4,180 
4,815 
4,407 
4,103 
3,951 

3,593 
3,646 
3,631 
3,271 
2,291 

1,163 

680 

358 

156 

52 

22 


8,436 
9,827 
8,903 
8,371 
8,044 

7.340 
7,346 
7.307 
6,716 
4,649 

2,353 

1,352 

761 

291 

93 

22 


Totol 


41,491 


40,310 


81,810 


r   n 

'"*      n- 

n_     n 
MMO 

r 

3500 

PI   l-Wp. 

n 

3000 

8500 

2000 

1500 

1000 

500 

6  7  •  9 

10  11  12  13  Ik 

15  li  17  If  19  20 

Diagram  8. — The  columns  represent  the  pupils  enrolled  in  the 
public  elementary  and  high  schools  in  June,  1915.  The 
columns  in  outline  represent  the  boys  and  those  in  black  repre- 
sent the  girls  at  each  age  from  six  to  20 

85 


the  age  of  16,  whereas  it  permits  boys  to  leave  at  the 
age  of  15.  The  figures  present  convincing  evidence 
that  this  feature  of  the  law  is  almost  entirely  in- 
operative, and  indicate  that  if  the  provision  requiring 


100 


97 


11 


52 


33 

21 

12 

k 

12  13  Ik   13  16  17  18  19 


20 


Diagram  9. — Columna  represent  number  of  pupils  among  each 
hundred  beginners  who  remain  in  school  at  each  age  from  12 
to  20 

86 


an  added  year  of  attendance  for  girls  had  not  been 
enacted,  the  results  would  be  much  the  same  as  they 
are  now. 

Careful  computations  have  been  made  to  find  out 
at  what  ages  the  pupils  drop  out  of  school  in  this 
city.  An  approximately  correct  answer  is  presented 
in  Diagram  9,  in  which  the  upright  columns  represent 
the  number  of  pupils  among  each  hundred  beginners 
who  remain  in  school  at  each  age.  In  general  terms, 
the  figures  show  that  practically  all  remain  to  the  age 
of  12.  By  14  one  in  six  has  left;  by  15  nearly  half 
of  them  have  gone;  by  16  two-thirds  have  dropped 
out;  and  by  17,  only  one  in  five  remains. 

There  is  good  evidence  that  these  figures  are  sub- 
stantially accurate,  and  if  they  are,  they  indicate 
serious  failure  on  the  part  of  the  attendance  ofiicers 
to  enforce  the  compulsory  attendance  law.  If  the 
data  of  the  school  census  were  accurately  gathered 
and  adequately  tabulated,  they  would  reveal  the 
real  facts  with  respect  to  the  enforcement  of  the 
legal  provisions  for  compulsory  education. 


Grades  at  Which  Pupils  Leave  School 
Careful  computations  indicate  that  the  numbers  of 
pupils  remaining  to  each  grade  and  high  school  class 
in  Cleveland  are  substantially  as  shown  in  Diagram 
10.  In  this  diagram  the  upright  columns  are  pro- 
portionate to  the  number  of  pupils  among  each 
hundred  beginners  who  survive  to  each  one  of  the 
upper  grades.    The  figures  indicate  that  almost  all 

87 


the  pupils  complete  the  fifth  grade.  By  the  time  the 
seventh  grade  is  reached,  one  in  five  has  left.  Nearly 
two-thirds  of  them  reach  the  eighth  grade.  More 
than  four  in  every  10  enter  the  high  school  and  nearly 
one-half  of  these  finish  the  course. 


100  100  100  100  99 


93 


80 


ii 


ki 


Jl 


a 


li 


2     3     U     5     6     7     8     I     II  III  IV 

Diagram  19. — Columns  represent  number  of  pupils  among  each 
himdred  beginners  who  remain  in  school  at  each  grade  from 
the  first  elementary  to  the  fourth  high 

This  showing  is  a  creditable  one.  Few  of  the  larger 
cities  do  better  and  many  of  them  make  much  poorer 
records.  Moreover,  there  is  clear  evidence  that  these 
conditions  have  been  rapidly  improving  in  Cleve- 
land during  the  past  10  years. 

88 


Regularity  of  Attendance 
The  school  records  indicate  that  pupils  attend  school 
with  unusual  regularity  in  Cleveland.  These  records 
are  unreliable  because  in  this  city  the  children  are 
considered  as  having  perfect  attendance  during  six 
weeks  of  every  year  regardless  of  whether  or  not 
they  are  absent.  This  method  of  counting  attendance 
should  be  modified  so  as  to  show  the  real  facts,  and 
steps  are  being  taken  toward  this  end. 

Children  Who  Are  Misfits 
The  survey  has  made  a  careful  study  to  determine 
how  many  of  the  Cleveland  children  are  over-age  for 
their  grades  and  how  many  are  making  slow  progress 
through  the  grades.  In  order  to  make  these  compari- 
sons, it  has  adopted  certain  standards.  The  stan- 
dards for  classifying  children  according  to  age  are 
as  follows: 

A  child  who  is  seven  years  old  and  is  in  the  first 
grade  is  considered  as  being  of  normal  age  for  that 
grade.  If  he  is  eight  or  more  years  old,  he  is  classi- 
fied as  over-age.  In  the  same  way  children  who  are 
nine  or  over  in  the  second  grade  and  10  or  over  in 
the  third  grade  are  classified  as  being  over-age  for 
their  grades.  The  same  rule  applies  to  the  children 
of  the  other  higher  grades,  one  year  being  added  for 
each  successive  advancing  grade. 

The  criteria  for  classifying  the  children  according 
to  progress  are  the  following: 

A  child  who  has  been  in  school  four  years  and  is  in 
89 


the  fourth  grade  is  classified  as  having  made  normal 
progress.  If  he  has  been  in  school  only  three  years, 
he  is  considered  to  have  made  rapid  progress,  while 
if  he  has  taken  five  or  more  years,  he  has  made  slow 
progress.  Following  similar  rules  for  all  the  other 
grades,  we  may  classify  the  children  into  three  groups 
according  as  they  have  made  rapid  progress,  normal 
progress,  or  slow  progress  through  the  grades. 

TABLE  2.— AGE  AND  PROGRESS  CLASSIFICATION  OF  CHIL- 
DREN IN  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS  AT  CLOSE  OF  YEAR  1914-16 


Aae  for  Qrada 

Young 

Normal 

Old 

p 

R 
O 
Q 
R 

F. 

Rapid 

4,574 

1,034 

871 

Normal 

21,262 

16.637 

4.130 

8 
8 

Slow 

480 

6,451 

16,344 

If  we  classify  all  of  the  children  according  to  age 
so  as  to  divide  them  into  children  who  are  below 
normal  age,  of  normal  age,  and  above  normal  age 
for  their  grades,  and  if  we  again  classify  them  accord- 
ing to  progress  into  groups  that  have  made  rapid 
progress,  normal  progress,  and  slow  progress,  we 
shall  have  a  three-times-three  classification  of  all 
the  children  into  nine  age  and  progress  groups.  Such 
a  classification  of  the  children  in  the  elementary 
schools  of  Cleveland  in  June,  1915,  gave  the  results 
shown  in  Table  2.    The  same  facts  are  shown  in 

90 


graphic  form  in  Diagram  11  in  which  the  figures  have 
been  reduced  to  a  percentage  basis  and  the  circles 
are  proportionate  in  size  to  the  percentage  of  chil- 
dren in  each  of  the  age  groups. 


0 

Under  age  and 
rapid  progress 

© 

Normal  age  and 
rapid  progress 

© 

Over  age  and 
rapid  progress 

(■) 

Under  age  and 
normal  progress 

0 

Normal  age  and 
normal  progress 

0 

Over  age  and 
normal  progress 

® 

Under  age  and 
slow  progress 

(•) 

Normal  age  and 
slow  progress 

o 

Over  age  and 
slow  progress 

Diagram  11. — Per  cent  of  children  in  each  age  and  progreaa 
group  in  elementary  schools  at  close  of  year  1914-15 


Of  all  the  children  considered  in  this  tabulation,  those 
who  constitute  the  greatest  problem  for  themselves, 
for  society,  and  for  the  school  system,  are  the  22  per 
cent  who  are  both  over-age  for  their  grades  and  are 
making  slow  progress.  These  are  the  pupils  who  ap- 

91 


pear  in  the  lower  right-hand  corner  of  the  tabulation. 
Unless  special  provision  is  made  for  them,  these  are 
the  children  who  clog  the  lower  grades  of  the  school 
system,  largely  constitute  the  great  mass  of  repeaters, 
and  finally  fall  out  without  completing  the  course. 
Frequently  they  leave  school  permanently  without 
ever  having  had  those  studies  which  have  been  put 
into  the  curriculum  for  the  express  purpose  of  fitting 
the  young  people  for  citizenship. 

The  most  important  and  effective  provision  which 
can  be  made  to  care  for  these  children  consists  of 
an  adequate  system  of  child  accounting  that  shall 
continually  tell  the  school  officials  how  many  such 
children  there  are  in  each  room  and  each  building, 
who  these  children  are,  and  why  they  have  not  gone 
forward  with  their  fellows.  This  is  a  matter  which 
can  be  solved  in  the  mass  only  by  taking  care  of  the 
individuals  who  make  up  the  mass. 

All  the  schools  of  the  city  contribute  some  chil- 
dren to  make  up  the  15,000  who  are  both  over-age 
and  slow,  but  they  differ  greatly  in  the  size  of  their 
contributions.  The  records  of  the  96  elementary 
schools  in  this  respect  are  shown  in  Table  3,  which 
gives  the  percentage  that  these  children  are  of  the 
entire  enrollment  in  each  of  the  schools.  At  one  ex- 
treme are  the  Kennard,  Miles,  and  Pearl  schools, 
with  only  about  10  per  cent  of  their  children  in  the 
slow  and  over-age  group,  while  at  the  other  extreme 
are  the  FuUerton  and  Longwood  schools,  with  more 
than  40  per  cent  of  their  children  in  this  class.  In 
this  connection  it  should  be  noted  that  the  member- 

92 


TABLE  3.— PER  CENT  OF  CHILDREN  IN  EACH  ELEMENTARY 

SCHOOL  WHO  ARE  BOTH  OVER-AGE  FOR  THEIR  GRADES  AND 

MAKING  SLOW  PROGRESS 

1.  Kennard  9.5  61.  Tod  21.2 

2.  Miles  10.4  52.  Harmon  21.7 

3.  Pearl  10.5  53.  Mt.  Pleawmt  21.8 

4.  Parkwood  11.2  54.  Fruitland  22.1 

5.  Wade  Park  11.2  65.  Buhrer  22.4 


6.  Addison 

11.6 

66. 

Clark 

22.7 

7.  Mill 

12.3 

67. 

Fairmount 

22.7 

8.  Central 

12.6 

68. 

Sackett 

22.8 

9.  Case  Woodland 

12.6 

59. 

Walton 

22.9 

10.  Doan 

12.9 

60. 

Miles  Park 

23.0 

11.  Dike 

13.2 

61. 

Orchard 

23.8 

12.  Bolton 

18.7 

62. 

Sterling 

24.2 

13.  Fowler 

13.8 

63. 

Tremont 

24.4 

14.  Columbia 

14.2 

64. 

Murray  Hill 

24.6 

16.  Giddings 

14.4 

65. 

Watterson 

24.9 

16.  South  Case 

14,7 

66. 

Alabama 

25.1 

17.  Kentucky 

14.8 

67. 

East  Boulevard 

25.2 

18.  Gilbert 

14.8 

68. 

Observation 

25.2 

19.  Hough 

16.3 

69. 

South 

25.5 

20.  Chesterfield 

16.8 

70. 

Lawn 

26.6 

21.  North  Doan 

16.8 

71. 

Stanard 

26.7 

22.  Rosedale 

16.1 

72. 

Barkwill 

25.9 

23.  Memphis 

16.2 

73. 

Memorial 

26.9 

24.  Boulevard 

16.6 

74. 

Warner 

26.6 

26.  Willard 

16.6 

75. 

Broadway 

27.2 

26.  Outhwaite 

17.0 

76. 

Brownell 

27.6 

27.  Huok 

17.3 

77. 

Waring 

27.6 

28.  Quincy 

17.6 

78. 

Kinsman 

27.6 

29.  East  Denison 

17.6 

79. 

Scranton 

27.7 

30.  Sibley 

17.8 

80. 

Nottingham 

27.9 

31.  Hodge 

17.9 

81. 

Case 

28.7 

32.  Wooldridge 

17.9 

82. 

East  Clark 

29.2 

33.  Woodland  Hills 

17.9 

83. 

Union 

29.5 

34.  Waring 

18.0 

84. 

Eagle 

29.6 

35.  Washington  Pk. 

18.0 

85. 

Woodland 

30.0 

36.  Sowinski 

18.1 

86. 

Detroit 

31.1 

37.  Landon 

18.2 

87. 

Rockwell 

31.3 

38.  Mayflower 

18.4 

88. 

St.  Clair 

32.1 

30.  Denison 

18.6 

89. 

Rice 

33.2 

40.  Waverly 

18.9 

90. 

Euclid  Park 

33.3 

41.  Hazeldell 

19.0 

91. 

Hicks 

34.5 

42.  Dunham 

19.7 

92. 

Mound 

34.6 

43.  East  Madison 

19.7 

93. 

Lincoln 

35.9 

44.  Milford 

19.7 

94. 

Harvard 

37.1 

45.  Gordon 

19.9 

95. 

Fullerton 

43.1 

46.  Halle 

20.1 

06. 

Longwood 

47.4 

47.  Dawning 

2a2 

48.  Marion 

20.4 

49.  Willson 

21.0 

60.  Moulton 

21.1 

93 


ship  of  the  Longwood  School  is  partly  made  up  of 
children  enrolled  in  special  classes  for  the  retarded 
and  backward. 

Size  of  Classes 
The  number  of  children  in  Cleveland  classrooms 
ranges  from  16  to  60.  The  average  number  in  actual 
attendance  in  each  classroom  is  38.  Among  1,791 
classrooms  in  use  in  March,  144  had  less  than  30 
children  in  attendance,  while  631,  or  more  than  one- 
third  of  them,  had  more  than  40  children  in  at- 
tendance. Every  endeavor  should  be  made  to  reduce 
these  latter  figures. 


Compulsory  Attendance 
The  Ohio  compulsory  attendance  law  requires  boys 
to  attend  school  until  they  are  15  years  old  and  girls 
until  they  are  16.  There  is  much  opposition  to  this 
law,  and  many  people  claim  that  children  should  be 
allowed  to  go  to  work  at  14,  especially  if  they  have 
completed  the  eighth  grade. 

This  report  is  opposed  to  amending  the  law  so  as 
to  shorten  the  compulsory  attendance  period.  The 
findings  of  the  survey  show  that  industry  and  busi- 
ness have  ahnost  no  desirable  openings  for  boys  or 
girls  under  the  age  of  16. 

The  Truancy  Division  of  the  Cleveland  school 
system  should  increase  the  eflBciency  and  thorough- 
ness of  its  work  by  systematically  checking  up  the 
work  of  its  oflficers  and  by  developing  better  meth- 

94 


ods  for  locating  children  who  are  not  enrolled  in  any 
school. 

The  provisions  of  the  law  requiring  health  cer- 
tificates for  children  who  receive  their  working  papers 
are  at  present  disregarded.  They  should  be  complied 
with. 

Conclusions  and  Recommendations 
1.  School  census  methods  should  be  reformed  so  that 
the  returns  will  show  how  many  boys  and  girls  of 
each  compulsory  attendance  age  are  attending  pub- 
lic schools,  parochial  schools,  private  schools,  or 
no  schools. 

2.  Shortages  in  census  returns  have  probably  cost 
the  city  more  than  $150,000  of  state  funds  in  the 
past  six  years.  Future  losses  should  be  avoided 
through  more  accurate  returns. 

3.  Census  figures  should  be  regularly  checked 
against  school  records  to  avoid  the  serious  inac- 
curacies that  have  existed  in  the  past. 

4.  There  should  be  estabUshed  a  permanent  school 
census  bureau  in  charge  of  a  thoroughly  competent 
census  clerk. 

5.  The  compulsory  attendance  law  is  not  well  en- 
forced with  respect  to  children  in  the  upper  com- 
pulsory attendance  ages.  This  is  particularly  true 
with  respect  to  the  attendance  of  the  older  girls. 
The  law  should  be  enforced. 

6.  Conditions  with  respect  to  the  falling  out  of 
children  before  the  completion  of  the  course  are 
better  than  in  many  other  cities. 

05 


7.  Methods  of  recording  attendance  should  be 
modified  so  as  to  yield  more  accurate  data. 

8.  In  Cleveland  there  are  fewer  children  over-age 
for  their  grades  and  fewer  making  slow  progress  than 
in  the  average  large  city. 

9.  Some  of  the  schools  have  several  times  as  many 
slow  and  over-age  children  as  other  schools.  Ener- 
getic steps  should  be  taken  to  make  available  for  all 
normal  children  the  educational  advantages  that  are 
successfully  employed  in  the  schools  making  the 
best  records. 

10.  The  survey  is  opposed  to  any  legal  amend- 
ment shortening  the  compulsory  attendance  period. 
It  finds  that  industry  and  business  ofifer  few  oppor- 
tunities for  boys  or  girls  under  the  age  of  16. 

11.  The  legal  provisions  requiring  health  cer- 
tificates for  children  receiving  working  papers  have 
been  disregarded.    They  should  be  complied  with. 


06 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  TEACHING  STAFF 

(Walter  A.  Jessup) 

For  purposes  of  salary  adjustment  there  are  five 
classes  of  teachers  in  the  elementary  schools  of  Cleve- 
land and  five  classes  in  the  normal  and  high  schools. 
The  board  regulations  concerning  the  salaries  of 
principals  are  based  on  the  number  of  classrooms 
in  their  buildings.  Special  provisions  are  made  for 
the  employment  of  substitute  teachers  in  elementary 
and  high  schools. 

There  is  opportunity  for  a  regular  elementary 
teacher  appointed  to  the  probationary  class  at  an 
initial  salary  of  $550,  to  advance  from  one  salary  class 
to  another  during  a  minimum  period  of  10  years  to  a 
salary  of  $1,000  per  year.  The  salaries  paid  to  sub- 
stitute teachers  vary  with  conditions  of  service. 

High  school  teachers  begin  in  the  first  probation- 
ary class  at  an  annual  salary  of  $800  and  may  ad- 
vance to  a  salary  of  $2,000  after  17  years  of  service. 

Salary  Schedule  op  Elementary  Principals 

The  board  regulation  concerning   salaries  paid  to 

elementary  principals  is  based  on  the  number  of 

regular  standard  classrooms  in  the  building  or  build- 

7  97 


ings  over  which  they  have  charge,  according  to  a 
regularly  graded  schedule.  For  example,  the  prin- 
cipal of  a  four-room  building  is  eligible  to  a  salary 
of  $1,000.  The  principal  of  a  36-room  building  is 
eligible  to  a  salary  of  $2,000.  Assistant  principals 
receive  an  extra  stipend  of  $50  each  year  in  addition 
to  the  amount  fixed  by  their  regular  classification  on 
the  payroll. 

TABLE  4.— SALARIES  OF  CLEVELAND  TEACHERS.  PAYROLL  AT 
CLOSE  OF  1914-16 


High  school 

Elementary 

Elementary 

teachers 

principals 

teachers 

2  at  92,640 

4  at  $2,000 

1  at  $1,660 

1  • 

2,630 

1  " 

1.980 

2  • 

1,640 

1  * 

2,600 

1  " 

1.960 

4  • 

1,600 

6  ' 

2,400 

1  " 

1.880 

1  • 

1,430 

2  " 

2,300 

3  " 

1.840 

1  ' 

1.400 

4  " 

2,280 

4  " 

1.800 

5  • 

1.300 

4  " 

2,200 

6  " 

1.740 

1  ' 

1.210 

2  " 

2,160 

1  " 

1.710 

7  " 

1.200 

7  *' 

2.100 

3  " 

1.700 

1  " 

1.165 

3  " 

2.040 

4  " 

1.680 

71  •• 

1.100 

22  " 

2.000 

3  " 

1.650 

83  " 

1.050 

7  " 

1,920 

3  " 

1.620 

3  " 

1.045 

20  " 

1.900 

1  " 

1.600 

762  " 

1.000 

37  " 

1.800 

8  •' 

1.690 

108  " 

960 

4  " 

1,700 

13  " 

1.660 

196  " 

900 

14  " 

1.680 

7  *• 

1.520 

112  " 

850 

24  •• 

1.600 

2  " 

1.600 

2  " 

825 

24  " 

1.660 

10  •• 

1,480 

130  " 

800 

19  " 

1,600 

3  " 

1.440 

1  '• 

770 

27  " 

1,440 

6  " 

1.400 

133  " 

750 

23  " 

1,400 

1  " 

1.325 

4  " 

716 

12  " 

1.320 

6  " 

1.320 

164  " 

700 

17  " 

1,300 

1  " 

1.300 

145  " 

650 

66  " 

1,200 

2  " 

1.200 

136  " 

600 

10  " 

1.100 

4  " 

1,160 

20  " 

660 

12  " 

1.000 

1  " 

1,120 

110  " 

600 

17  " 

800 

1  " 

1.080 

1  " 

400 

1  " 

650 

Two  high  school  principals  at  $3,600  and  eight  at  $3,000. 
98 


The  Salaries  Actually  Paid  to  Cleveland 
Teachers 

Table  4,  based  on  the  payroll  at  the  close  of  the  year 
1914r-15,  shows  the  different  salaries  paid  to  the 
different  types  of  teachers.  This  table  should  be 
read  as  follows:  There  were  two  high  school  teachers 
who  received  $2,640,  four  elementary  principals  who 
received  $2,000,  and  one  elementary  teacher  who  re- 
ceived $1,650. 

table  6.— salaries  of  supervisory  officers  in  1915 


Officer 


Men      Women     Salary 


Superintendent 

Assistant  superintendent 

Supervisor  of  requisitions  and  reports 

Assistant  superintendent  (physical  education 

— part  time)  _ 
General  supervisor 

General  supervisor 
General  supervisor 
Supervisor  of  German 
8ui>ervisor  of  drawing  and  applied  arts 
Assistant  aupervisor  of  drawing  and  applied 
arts 

Assistant  supervisor  of  drawing  and  applied 

arts 
Supervisor  of  musio 
Assistant  sui>ervi8or  of  musio 
Assistant  supervisor  of  musio 
Assistant  supervisor  of  musio 

Supervisor  of  writing 
Assistant  supervisor  of  writing 
Assistant  supervisor  of  writing 
Assistant  supervisor  of  writing 
Supervisor  of  manual  training 

Assistant  sui>ervisor  of  manual  training 
Supervisor  of  domestic  science 
Supervisor  of  physical  education 
Supervisor  of  indoor  recreation 
Sui)ervisor  of  work  for  the  blind 


Total 


12 


$6,000 
3.750 
3.000 

1,500 
2,400 

2,300 
2,000 
2,000 
2.100 

1,050 


1,000 
2,400 
1,200 
1,050 
1,000 

2.300 
1,200 
1,050 
1,000 
2,500 

1,000 
2,000 
2,400 
1,200 
1,500 


19         S65,650 


99 


Number  and  Salaries  of  Supervisory  Officers 
Table  5,  based  on  the  payroll  at  the  close  of  1914-15, 
shows  the  salaries  paid  to  the  various  supervisory 
officers  of  the  Cleveland  schools. 


table  6.— median  salaries  of  elementary  teachers, 
high  school  teachers,  and  elementary  principals  in 
cleveland  and  in  13  other  cities  of  more  than  250,000 
inhabitants.  the  cleveland  data  are  for  1915  and 
those  of  other  cities  are  for  1913 


aty 

Elementary 
teachers 

High  school 
teachers 

Elementary 
principals 

San  Francisco 
Boston 
Chicago 
St.  Louis 
Cincinnati 

$1,200 
1,176 
1,175 
1,032 
1.000 

Sl,680 
1,620 
1.600 
1.520 
1,300 

S1.800 
3.300 
2.800 
2.600 
2,200 

Minneapolis 

Newark 

Cleveland 

Philadelphia 
Milwaulcee 

1,000 

1.000 

900 

900 

876 

1.400 
1.900 
1,500 

1.400 
1,260 

1,600 
2.600 
1.650 

1.600 
1.980 

Indianapolis 
Washington 
Baltimore 
New  Orleans 

875 
750 
700 
700 

1.100 
1.800 
1.200 
1.100 

1.300 
1.510 
2,000 
1.250 

Salaries  in  Cleveland  Compared  with  Salaries 

Elsewhere 
Table  6  presents  a  comparison  between  the  salaries 
paid  teachers  in  Cleveland  and  those  paid  in  the  13 
other  large  cities.  These  data  are  from  the  payroll 
of  the  Cleveland  schools  at  the  close  of  the  school 
year  in  1915  and  from  "Tangible  Rewards  of  Teach- 
ing," published  by  the  United  States  Bureau  of 
Education  in  1914  and  giving  data  for  the  school  year 
1912-13.  This  comparison  is  unduly  favorable  to 
100 


Cleveland  for  it  takes  into  account  the  salary  in- 
creases made  here  from  1913  to  1915,  but  does  not 
take  into  account  those  that  have  been  made  in  the 
other  cities. 

The  data  of  the  table  show  that  in  comparison  with 
salaries  paid  in  other  cities  of  similar  size  the  remu- 
neration of  elementary  teachers  is  somewhat  low; 
that  of  the  high  school  teachers  is  somewhat  high; 
and  that  of  the  elementary  principals  is  distinctly  low. 

Salary  Increases 
During  the  past  10  years  salary  increases  in  other 
cities  have  been  decidedly  more  substantial  than  in 
Cleveland.    This  is  true  in  the  case  of  both  the 
elementary  teachers  and  the  high  school  teachers. 

Increase  in  the  Cost  op  Living 
There  is  convincing  evidence  that  during  the  past 
few  years  the  cost  of  living  has  been  advancing  far 
more  rapidly  than  salaries.  The  purchasing  power 
of  a  dollar  in  Cleveland  is  not  very  different  at  the 
present  time  from  its  prevailing  value  in  Boston  or 
Chicago.  Nevertheless  the  salaries  in  those  cities 
are  decidedly  larger  than  they  are  in  Cleveland. 

Salaries  of  Teachers  as  Compared  with  Those 

OF  Other  Workers 

The  report  presents  interesting  data  showing  the 

annual  wages  of  artisans,  such  as  plumbers,  brick- 

101 


layers,  plasterers,  carpenters,  etc.,  compared  with 
the  salaries  of  teachers  in  different  cities.  These 
show  that  in  Cleveland  the  teachers  are  less  highly 
paid  than  the  artisans.  Further  comparisons  show 
that  such  municipal  employees  as  policemen  and 
firemen  are  better  paid  than  are  the  teachers. 


School  Funds  and  Teachers'  Salaries 
The  salaries  of  the  pubUc  school  teachers  are  a  matter 
of  vital  concern  to  the  Cleveland  public  from  the 
standpoint  of  service.  In  the  general  competition 
for  teachers  Cleveland  cannot  hope  to  hold  her  own 
unless  adequate  salaries  are  paid.  The  Board  of 
Education  now  finds  itself  in  a  difficult  situation. 
Teaching  is  a  necessity,  not  a  luxury.  If  it  is  to  be 
adequate  in  quaUty,  it  must  be  paid  for  at  rates 
which  are  in  the  long  run  fixed  by  the  salaries  paid  in 
other  cities  and  in  other  forms  of  employment.  The 
funds  available  in  Cleveland  are  not  adequate  to 
pay  such  salaries  as  are  now  being  received  by  teach- 
ers elsewhere.  The  first  step  in  remedying  the  situa- 
tion is  to  economize  in  other  expenditures.  This 
process  has  probably  been  already  carried  about  as 
far  as  is  wise.  The  next  step  is  for  the  Board  of 
Education  to  present  these  needs  to  the  public  in  so 
convincing  a  manner  that  they  will  insist  on  their 
representatives  in  the  state  legislature  changing  the 
laws  so  that  the  Board  can  secure  funds  adequate  to 
purchase  the  teaching  services  that  are  imperative 
necessities  in  a  modern  educational  system. 
102 


Experience  of  Teachers 
One-half  of  the  elementary  teachers  in  the  Cleveland 
schools  have  had  between  five  and  18  years  of  ex- 
perience. One-half  of  the  high  school  teachers  have 
had  between  six  years  and  19  years  of  experience. 
The  experience  of  elementary  teachers  in  Cleveland 
is  not  strikingly  different  from  that  found  in  other 
large  cities.  It  is  the  same,  for  example,  as  that  of 
the  teachers  of  New  York  City.  Three-fourths  of 
the  teachers  in  the  high  schools  in  cities  of  50,000  or 
over  on  the  accredited  list  of  the  North  Central 
Association  of  Colleges  and  Secondary  Schools  have 
had  five  years'  experience  or  less.  This  would  seem 
to  indicate  that  the  teachers  in  Cleveland  high  schools 
are  somewhat  more  experienced  than  the  teachers 
of  the  high  schools  in  other  cities. 

Experience  op  Principals 
The  median  experience  of  principals  is  S2  years, 
which  means  that  half  of  the  principals  of  the  ele- 
mentary schools  of  Cleveland  have  had  32  years  or 
more  of  experience.  One-fourth  of  the  principals 
have  had  37  years  of  experience  or  more,  and  one- 
fourth  have  had  27  years  of  experience  or  less.  Ex- 
pressed in  another  way,  half  of  the  principals  have 
had  between  27  and  37  years  of  experience. 

The  fact  that  the  median  experience  of  the  ele- 
mentary teachers  is  10  years,  and  the  median  ex- 
perience of  elementary  principals  is  32  years,  and 
that  no  principal  has  had  less  experience  than  13 
103 


years,  leads  to  the  generalization  that  the  expectancy 
of  becoming  a  principal  of  elementary  schools  in 
Cleveland  is  limited  to  those  who  have  stayed  in  the 
system  for  a  long  time.  It  has  become  a  traditional 
practice  in  Cleveland  to  appoint  teachers  to  princi- 
palships  on  the  basis  of  seniority  rather  than  on  the 
basis  of  preparation  and  professional  qualification. 
In  view  of  this  it  may  be  safe  to  hazard  the  opinion 
that  the  elementary  school  principals  in  Cleveland 
are  likely  to  be  somewhat  conservative  in  regard  to 
the  administration  of  education. 

Ages  of  Principals 
Of  the  94  principals  listed,  half  are  52  years  of  age 
or  older;  one-fourth  are  57  years  or  older;  one- 
fourth  are  47  years  or  younger.  The  middle  50  per 
cent  of  these  principals  are  between  the  ages  of  47 
and  57  years. 

In  many  instances  there  is  a  striking  contrast  be- 
tween the  professional  attitude  of  the  principals 
who  are  50  years  of  age  or  younger  and  that  of  the 
principals  who  are  50  years  of  age  or  older.  In 
other  words,  there  is  a  deep  educational  significance 
in  the  fact  that  one-fourth  of  the  elementary  prin- 
cipals are  57  years  old  or  older. 

Education   of  Elementary  and   High  School 

Teachers  and  Elementary  Principals 

It  has  become  the  universal  practice  of  America  to 

set  up  certain  arbitrary  educational  qualifications 

104 


Diagram  12. — Professional  training  of  elementary  teachers, 
high  school  teachers,  and  elementary  principals  in  Clevelana 


105 


for  the  position  of  teachers.  These  qualifications 
are  checked  either  by  examination  or  by  reports  on 
teaching. 

Some  significant  conditions  as  to  the  professional 
training  of  the  teaching  force  of  Cleveland  are  re- 
flected in  the  figm-es  of  Diagram  12.  These  figures 
indicate  that  one-sixth  of  the  elementary  teachers, 
nearly  one-fomth  of  the  high  school  teachers,  and 
more  than  one-fourth  of  the  elementary  principals 
have  a  less  adequate  professional  preparation  for 
their  work  than  should  be  required  in  a  truly  high- 
grade  city  school  system. 

One  of  the  unfortunate  conditions  existing  in  the 
Cleveland  school  system  is  that  a  great  majority  of 
the  force  of  the  elementary  schools  of  the  city  have 
been  educated  at  home  and  have  done  all  their  work 
here.  It  is  now  almost  universally  recognized  that 
"inbreeding"  of  a  teaching  force  is  accompanied  by 
seriously  detrimental  results.  It  is  a  most  valuable 
part  of  a  teacher's  training  to  secure  at  least  a  por- 
tion of  her  professional  preparation  in  some  other 
city  and  thus  to  get  in  contact  with  other  schools 
and  other  teaching  methods. 

The  facts  as  to  home  training  among  Cleveland 
teachers  are  graphically  presented  in  Diagram  13. 


The  Pension  Fund  and  Teachers  Who  Enter 

Late 
During   recent   years   many   teachers   have   been 
brought  into  the  school  system  from  outside  locaU- 
106 


Diagram  13. —  Per  cent  of  elementary  teachers,  high  Bchool 
teacners,  and  elementary  principals  in  Cleveland  who  are 
home  trained  and  not  home  trained 
107 


ties.  In  a  seriously  large  number  of  cases  these 
teachers  have  had  most  meager  educational  qualifica- 
tions and  have  entered  the  city's  service  at  relatively 
advanced  ages.  There  are  two  important  reasons 
why  the  practice  of  employing  such  teachers  should 
be  discontinued. 

The  first  of  these  is,  of  course,  that  only  well- 
qualified  teachers  should  be  employed.  The  second 
reason  is  that  the  employment  of  outside  teachers 
who  are  no  longer  young  has  a  most  serious  effect 
on  the  future  of  the  pension  fund. 

A  pension  system  providing  a  maximum  of  $450 
per  year  has  been  in  operation  for  a  decade.  An 
average  of  10  teachers  retire  on  this  each  year.  With 
respect  to  the  future  of  the  pension  fund,  there  is  a 
great  difference  between  the  employment  of  a  teacher 
who  is  over  40  and  bringing  in  a  teacher  who  has 
recently  graduated  from  a  normal  school  and  had  a 
year  or  two  of  teaching  experience.  Figures  for  10 
recent  appointments  of  teachers  from  outside  of 
Cleveland  show  that  their  average  age  is  43  and  that 
they  have  had  an  average  teaching  experience  of  16 
years. 

The  salaries  paid  to  teachers  are  really  of  two 
sorts — ^present  salary  paid  from  month  to  month 
while  the  teacher  is  in  active  service,  and  deferred 
salary,  which  is  paid  as  pension  benefits.  In  the 
case  of  the  teachers  brought  in  from  outside  at  the 
age  of  43,  the  probabilities  are  that  the  deferred 
salary  will  be  so  large  in  aggregate  amount  that  each 
year  of  teaching  service  rendered  will  cost  the  city 
108 


more  than  it  would  if  the  teachers  were  about 
20  years  younger.  The  Board  would  surely  deem  it 
a  great  hardship  if  it  were  now  forced  to  pay  these 
outside  teachers  with  their  meager  qualifications  $200 
per  annum  more  than  the  standard  salaries  paid  to 
graduates  of  the  local  Normal  School.  Neverthe- 
less this  is  what  it  is  actually  doing  and  receiving 
no  adequate  benefit  for  its  heavy  investment.  For 
this  reason,  as  well  as  from  considerations  of  the  wel- 
fare of  the  children,  every  endeavor  should  be  made 
to  insist  on  high  quaUfications  and  relative  youth  as 
requisites  for  admitting  new  members  to  the  teach- 
ing force. 

Married  Teachers 
Marriage  is  equivalent  to  a  resignation,  but  such 
teachers  are  re-employed  as  substitutes.  There  are 
at  least  250  such  substitutes  on  the  payroll.  The 
present  arrangement  in  regard  to  married  teachers  is 
not,  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  conducive  to  pro- 
fessional growth.  A  better  plan  would  be  to  employ 
them  outright,  giving  them  the  same  incentive  to 
superior  service  and  improvement  as  that  given  other 
teachers. 

Training  in  Service 
Although  there  is  a  general  statement  by  the  Board 
encouraging  growth  in  professional  knowledge,  there 
has  been  little  definite  provision  for  stimulating 
teachers  in  service  to  improve  themselves. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  teachers  in  Cleveland 
have  been  so  largely  trained  at  home,  have  had  so 
109 


much  of  their  experience  at  home,  and  are  relatively 
mature,  it  would  seem  highly  advisable  that  the 
Board  of  Education  follow  up  their  suggestion  of 
professional  study  by  a  definite  organization  ade- 
quately financed,  whereby  teachers  might  be  stimu- 
lated to  a  continuation  of  professional  growth  by 
means  of  extension  courses.  The  presence  of  a 
large  number  of  well-trained  men  and  women  in- 
structors in  the  normal  school,  colleges,  and  near-by 
state  normal  school  and  the  strong  colleges  and  uni- 
versities within  the  city  makes  it  easily  possible  for 
the  rapid  development  of  strong  extension  courses. 

The  St.  Louis  plan  of  extension  courses  for  im- 
proving teachers  in  service  is  commended  and  the 
suggestion  is  made  that  Cleveland  might  profitably 
institute  similar  work.  Again  it  would  seem  worth 
while  for  the  city  of  Cleveland  to  cooperate  with 
other  educational  agencies  nearby  with  the  view  of 
developing  a  strong  and  attractive  summer  course 
for  teachers.  While  it  is  true  that  the  teachers  who 
have  had  all  their  experience  and  schooling  in  Cleve- 
land might  be  profited  more  by  going  to  a  summer 
school  outside  of  Cleveland,  yet  there  are  many 
teachers  who  would  find  a  summer  session  in  Cleve- 
land a  valuable  means  of  increasing  professional 
equipment. 

Teachers'  Meetings 

Section  10  of  the  1915  rules  governing  the  Board 

of  Elducation  reads:   "General  meetings:   teachers' 

meetings  and  grade  meetings  may  be  called  by  the 

110 


superintendent  or  assistant  superintendents  from 
time  to  time  as  conditions  of  the  school  and  work 
may  necessitate." 

Here  we  have  a  general  formulation  of  the  policy 
so  far  as  teachers'  meetings  are  concerned.  How- 
ever, it  is  a  fact  that  the  teachers  of  Cleveland  have 
had  relatively  few  meetings.  Indeed,  neither  gen- 
eral, district,  nor  special  meetings  have  been  common 
during  recent  years.  Only  one  general  meeting  has 
been  held  during  the  present  administration.  Dis- 
trict teachers'  meetings,  bringing  together  all  the 
teachers,  are  rare.  There  are  few  if  any  meetings 
calculated  to  bring  together  all  the  teachers  of  a 
given  subject, — say  of  Latin  or  English, — as  is  the 
case  in  Cincinnati.  Building  meetings  are  common 
in  the  larger  buildings,  although  some  of  the  smaller 
buildings  have  no  such  meetings.  Grade  and  de- 
partment meetings  in  each  district  are  held  from 
time  to  time. 

Teachers  are  not  permitted  to  dismiss  early  in 
order  that  they  may  have  an  opportunity  to  attend 
these  meetings.  The  general  feeling  among  the 
teachers  and  principals  seems  to  be  that  these  meet- 
ings are  a  benefit,  but  that  they  are  also  a  burden,  so 
much  so,  indeed,  that  there  is  a  noticeable  degree  of 
hesitation  about  calling  such  meetings. 

Surely  there  is  a  decided  value  in  having  the  teach- 
ers of  Cleveland  brought  together  from  time  to  time 
for  purposes  of  organization,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
value  of  having  frequent  meetings  for  instruction 
and  organization  in  smaller  instructional  groups. 
Ill 


Promotions  for  Merit  and  Service 
Reference  to  the  Board  rules  in  respect  to  the  classi- 
fication of  teachers  on  the  basis  of  salary  reveals  the 
fact  that  a  teacher  may  be  advanced  from  one  class 
to  another  with  a  fixed  number  of  years  of  experience 
and  the  approval  of  the  Board  of  Education  after 
the  recommendation  of  the  school  superintendent. 
Thus,  in  effect  the  school  superintendent  is  respon- 
sible for  the  promotion  of  teachers  from  one  salary 
classification  to  another.  As  a  basis  of  judgment  the 
superintendent  requires  the  principal  and  the  super- 
visor to  report  on  the  quaUfications  of  the  teachers. 
This  report  involves  an  estimate  of  teaching  ability, 
executive  power,  personal  influence,  professional  sin- 
cerity, general  culture,  and  evidence  of  professional 
growth. 

Although  teachers  are  not  promoted  on  the  salary 
list  as  soon  as  and  just  because  they  have  served  the 
time  in  each  class  on  the  salary  schedule,  yet  it  is  a 
fact  that  relatively  few  teachers  fail  of  promotion  at 
the  expiration  of  the  time  limit.  In  1914,  only  20 
failed  of  promotion.  In  1915,  31  failed  of  promo- 
tion. 

In  the  long  run  it  should  be  said  that  Cleveland 
cannot  hope  to  have  the  best  possible  teaching  force 
until  adequate  salaries  are  paid  and  an  adequate 
system  of  promotion  based  on  evidence  of  growth 
in  professional  ability  is  estabUshed.  The  present 
system  is  not  calculated  to  enable  the  school  ofl&cials 
sharply  to  draw  the  fine  between  ordinary  and  extra- 
ordinary ability. 

112 


The  Normal  Training  School 
The  Normal  Training  School  was  established  in 
1874.  At  the  outset  provision  was  made  for  about 
200  students.  For  many  years  there  have  been  10 
teachers  and  a  principal  on  the  regular  staff  of  the 
school.  At  present  it  may  be  said  that  the  Normal 
Training  School  is  one  of  the  best  equipped  city 
training  schools  in  the  country.  An  Observation 
School  employing  11  regular  teachers  is  maintained 
in  connection  with  the  Normal  Training  School.  In 
addition  to  the  Observation  School  there  are  addi- 
tional facilities  for  practice  and  observation  in  two 
other  elementary  schools  in  the  city.  The  combined 
teaching  staff  of  these  schools  is  about  50.  For  the 
past  few  years  they  have  been  furnishing  about  100 
new  teachers  each  year.  In  view  of  the  fact  that 
there  are  now  more  than  200  vacancies  annually,  it 
is  possible  that  the  facilities  of  the  Normal  Training 
School  should  be  extended  so  as  to  accommodate  a 
larger  number  of  students.  However,  it  is  by  no 
means  certain  that  over  200  new  teachers  will  be 
required  each  year  in  Cleveland  for  any  length  of 
time;  neither  is  it  desirable  that  all  the  new  teachers 
be  trained  in  Cleveland.  An  expansion  of  the 
training  school  facilities  should  be  made  only  after  a 
most  careful  analysis  of  conditions. 

Health  of  Teachers 
The  average  number  of  absences  in  the  teaching 
force  on  account  of  illness  in  Cleveland  now  amounts 
8  113 


to  about  80  absent  for  one  session  each  day.  Since 
a  majority  are  absent  for  both  sessions  of  the  day, 
this  means  that  more  than  40  individuals  are  out 
on  account  of  sickness  every  school  day,  on  the  aver- 
age. These  figures  apply  only  to  those  who  receive 
pay  although  absent  and  the  real  figures  are  largely  in 
excess  of  those  given,  for  many  are  absent  without 
pay  and  many  exceed  the  10  days  of  absence  allowed 
and  paid  for.  Since  the  Board  of  Education  pays 
not  only  the  salary  of  the  absent  teacher  but  also 
that  of  the  substitute  as  well,  the  cost  of  these  ab- 
sences is  large,  amounting  to  over  $200  a  day  and  to 
about  $40,000  per  year  for  services  which  the  school 
system  pays  for  but  does  not  receive. 


Teachers'  Certification 
The  City  Board  of  School  Examiners  may  grant 
provisional  certificates  for  one  year  and  three  years. 
The  system  of  certification  is  so  administered  as  to 
serve  only  as  a  minor  barrier  to  entrance  to  the  teach- 
ing profession  of  Cleveland.  A  more  rigid  system  of 
selection  of  teachers  is  recommended. 


Tenure 
It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that,  despite  the  fact  that 
appointments  are  for  one  year  only,  relatively  few 
teachers  in  Cleveland  are  dropped.  In  other  words, 
the  Cleveland  elementary  teacher,  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  she  is  subject  to  annual  appointment 
114 


with  the  possibiUty  of  a  new  assignment  of  duties, 
generally  finds  a  steady  task  teaching  the  same  grade 
in  the  same  building.  Indeed,  there  are  instances  on 
record  of  teachers  being  in  the  same  building  for 
more  than  40  years. 


Substitutes 
Cleveland  has  an  unusual  number  of  teachers  who 
are  called  substitutes.  There  are  three  types  of 
teachers  in  this  class:  first,  the  beginners;  second, 
married  teachers,  known  as  "  permanent  substitutes  " ; 
third,  substitutes  who  work  from  day  to  day  and 
shift  from  place  to  place. 

On  January  1,  1916,  there  were  967  teachers  on  the 
substitute  list,  of  whom  96  were  high  school  teachers, 
774  elementary  teachers,  65  kindergarten  teachers, 
and  32  special  teachers.  There  were  more  than  600 
substitute  teachers  who  were  neither  on  the  list  of 
new  appointments  nor  on  the  list  to  be  called  out  for 
ordinary  substitute  service.  This  remarkable  situa- 
tion is  of  concern  to  the  city  chiefly  in  connection 
with  the  question  as  to  whether  or  not  this  large 
proportion  of  substitute  teachers  on  the  list  of  total 
appointments  serves  as  a  help  or  hindrance  toward 
building  up  a  professional  consciousness  among 
the  teachers.  Cleveland  should  face  this  question 
frankly  with  a  view  of  either  justifying  the  situa- 
tion or  changing  it.  It  should  not  go  on  unchal- 
lenged. 

115 


Appointment  of  Teachers 
The  board  rule  for  the  quaUfications  of  teachers  sets 
a  high  standard,  but  provides  a  loop-hole  which 
makes  it  possible  for  teachers  of  widely  varying 
qualifications  to  be  appointed.  The  superintendent 
is  given  the  responsibiUty  for  the  appointment  of 
teachers,  but  he  has  neither  been  adequately  safe- 
guarded by  requirements  for  teachers  nor  has  he  until 
recently  been  given  sufficient  means  to  go  outside  the 
city  to  search  for  the  best  teachers  available. 

Conclusions  and  Recommendations 
1.  In  Cleveland  regular  elementary  teachers  begin  at 
a  salary  of  $550  and  may  advance  during  a  minimum 
period  of  10  years  to  a  salary  of  $1,000  per  year. 

2.  High  school  teachers  begin  at  an  annual  salary 
of  $800  and  may  advance  to  $2,000  after  17  years  of 
service. 

3.  Salaries  of  elementary  principals  vary  from 
$1,000  to  $2,000  and  are  based  on  the  number  of 
rooms  in  the  building. 

4.  In  comparison  with  salaries  paid  in  other  cities 
of  similar  size,  the  remuneration  of  elementary  teach- 
ers is  somewhat  low,  that  of  high  school  teachers 
somewhat  high,  and  that  of  elementary  principals 
distinctly  low. 

5.  The  funds  available  in  Cleveland  are  not  ade- 
quate to  pay  such  salaries  as  are  being  received  by 
teachers  elsewhere.  The  survey  urges  the  board  to 
work  for  legislative  amendments  that  will  result  in 

116 


increased  school  funds  and  make  possible  larger  sal- 
aries. 

6.  Principalships  largely  go  to  the  survivors  in  the 
system.  Half  of  the  elementary  principals  have  had 
32  years  or  more  experience.  One-fourth  of  them 
are  57  years  old  or  older. 

7.  Seriously  large  proportions  of  the  teachers  have 
had  less  adequate  professional  preparation  than 
should  be  required  in  a  truly  high  grade  city  school 
system. 

8.  About  five-sixths  of  the  elementary  teachers 
and  principals  received  all  their  regular  training  in 
Cleveland. 

9.  The  future  of  the  pension  fund  is  jeopardized  by 
the  present  practice  of  bringing  in  outside  teachers 
of  relatively  advanced  age. 

10.  The  survey  recommends  the  adoption  of  more 
vigorous  measures  for  the  improvement  of  teachers  in 
service. 

11.  A  more  rigid  system  of  selection  of  teachers  is 
recommended. 

12.  The  survey  recommends  changes  in  the 
present  practice  of  employing  substitute  teachers 
and  arrangements  for  dealing  with  married  teachers. 


117 


CHAPTER  VII 

WHAT  THE  SCHOOLS  TEACH  AND  MIGHT 
TEACH 

(Franklin  Bobbitt) 

The  fundamental  social  point  of  view  of  this  dis- 
cussion of  the  courses  of  study  of  the  Cleveland 
schools  is  that  effective  teaching  is  preparation  for 
adult  life  through  participation  in  the  activities  of 
life. 

The  Point  op  View 
In  very  early  days,  when  community  life  was  simple, 
practically  all  one's  education  was  obtained  through 
participating  in  community  activities,  and  without 
systematic  teaching.  From  that  day  to  this,  how- 
ever, the  social  world  has  been  growing  more  com- 
plex. Adults  have  developed  kinds  of  activities  so 
comphcated  that  youth  cannot  adequately  enter 
into  them  and  learn  them  without  systematic  teach- 
ing. 

One  of  the  earliest  of  these  too-complicated  ac- 
tivities was  written  language — reading,  writing, 
spelhng.  These  matters  became  necessities  to  the 
adult  world,  but  youth  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances could  not  participate  in  them  as  performed 
118 


by  adults  suflficiently  to  master  them.  They  had  to 
be  taught;  and  the  school  thereby  came  into  ex- 
istence. A  second  thing  developed  about  the  same 
time  was  the  comphcated  number  system  used  by 
adults.  It  was  too  difficult  for  youth  to  master 
through  participation  only.  It  too  had  to  be  taught, 
and  it  offered  a  second  task  for  the  schools. 

As  community  vision  widened  and  men's  affairs 
came  to  extend  far  beyond  the  horizon,  a  need  arose 
for  knowledge  of  the  outlying  world. 

This  knowledge  could  rarely  be  obtained  suffi- 
ciently through  travel  and  observation.  There  arose 
the  new  need  for  the  systematic  teaching  of  geog- 
raphy. What  had  hitherto  not  been  a  human  neces- 
sity and  therefore  not  an  educational  essential  be- 
came both  because  of  changed  social  conditions. 

Looking  at  education  from  this  social  point  of 
view  it  is  easy  to  see  that  there  was  a  time  then  no 
particular  need  existed  for  history,  drawing,  science, 
vocational  studies,  civics,  etc.,  beyond  what  one 
could  acquire  by  mingling  with  one's  associates  in 
the  community.  These  were  therefore  not  then 
essentials  for  education.  It  is  just  as  easy  to  see 
that  changed  social  conditions  of  the  present  make 
necessary  for  every  one  a  fuller  and  more  systematic 
range  of  ideas  in  each  of  these  fields  than  one  can 
pick  up  incidentally.  These  things  have  thereby 
become  educational  essentials.  Whether  a  thing  to- 
day is  an  educational  "essential"  or  not  seems  to 
depend  upon  two  things:  whether  it  is  a  human 
necessity  today;  and  whether  it  is  so  complex  or 
119 


inaccessible  as  to  require  systematic  teaching.  The 
number  of  "essentials"  changes  from  generation  to 
generation. 

The  normal  method  of  education  in  things  not 
yet  put  into  the  schools  is  participation  in  those 
things.  One  gets  his  ideas  from  watching  others 
and  then  learns  to  do  by  doing.  There  is  no  reason 
to  believe  that  as  the  school  lends  its  help  to  some  of 
the  more  difficult  things,  this  normal  plan  of  learning 
can  be  set  aside  and  another  substituted.  Of  course 
the  schools  must  take  in  hand  the  difficult  portions 
of  the  process.  Where  complicated  knowledge  is 
needed,  the  schools  must  teach  that  knowledge. 
Where  drill  is  required,  they  must  give  the  drill. 
But  the  knowledge  and  the  drill  should  be  given  in 
their  relation  to  the  human  activities  in  which  they 
are  used.  As  the  school  helps  young  people  to  take 
on  the  nature  of  adulthood,  it  will  still  do  so  by  helping 
them  to  enter  adequately  into  the  activities  of  adult- 
hood. Youth  will  learn  to  think,  to  judge,  and  to  do, 
by  thinking,  judging,  and  doing.  They  will  acquire 
a  sense  of  responsibiUty  by  bearing  responsibility. 
They  will  take  on  serious  forms  of  thought  by  doing 
the  serious  things  which  require  serious  thought. 

The  social  point  of  view  herein  expressed  is  some- 
times characterized  as  being  utihtarian.  It  may  be 
so;  but  not  in  any  narrow  or  undesirable  sense.  It 
demands  that  training  be  as  wide  as  life  itself.  It 
looks  to  human  activities  of  every  type;  religious 
activities;  civic  activities;  the  duties  of  one's  call- 
ing; one's  family  duties;  one's  recreations;  one's 
lao 


reading  and  meditation;  and  the  rest  of  the  things 
that  are  done  by  the  complete  man  or  woman. 

Reading  and  Literature 
The  schools  of  Cleveland  devote  far  more  time  to 
reading  than  do  those  of  the  average  city.  During 
the  course  of  his  school  life,  each  pupil  who  finishes 
the  elementary  grades  in  Cleveland  receives  1,710 
hours  of  recitation  and  directed  study  in  reading  as 
against  an  average  of  1,280  hours  in  progressive  cities 
in  general.  This  is  an  excess  of  430  hours,  or  34  per 
cent.  The  annual  cost  of  teaching  reading  being 
about  $600,000,  this  represents  an  excess  annual  in- 
vestment in  this  subject  of  some  $150,000.  Whether 
or  not  this  excess  investment  in  reading  is  justified 
depends  upon  the  way  the  time  is  used. 

In  too  large  measure  this  investment  of  time  and 
money  is  devoted  to  mastering  the  mechanics  of 
reading  and  to  the  analytical  study  of  the  manner 
in  which  the  words  are  combined  in  sentences  and 
the  sentences  in  paragraphs.  The  main  object  of 
the  reading  should  be  the  mastery  of  the  thought 
rather  than  the  study  of  the  construction.  Through 
it  the  children  should  gain  life-long  habits  of  ex- 
ploring, through  reading,  the  great  fields  of  history, 
industry,  applied  science,  life  in  other  lands,  travel, 
invention,  biography,  and  wholesome  fiction.  To 
this  end  the  work  should  be  made  more  extensive 
and  less  intensive. 

One  final  suggestion  finds  here  its  logical  place. 
121 


Before  the  reading  work  of  elementary  or  high  schools 
can  be  modernized,  the  city  must  purchase  the  books 
used  in  the  work.  Leaving  the  supplying  of  books 
to  private  purchase  is  the  largest  single  obstacle  in 
the  way  of  progress.  Men  in  the  business  world  will 
have  no  difficulty  in  seeing  the  logic  of  this.  When 
shoes,  for  example,  were  made  by  hand,  each  work- 
man could  easily  supply  his  own  tools;  but  now  that 
elaborate  machinery  has  been  devised  for  their 
manufacture,  it  has  become  so  expensive  that  a 
machine  factory  must  supply  the  tools.  It  is  so  in 
almost  every  field  of  labor  where  efficiency  has  been 
introduced.  Now  the  books  to  be  read  are  the  tools 
in  the  teaching  of  reading.  In  a  former  day  when  a 
mastery  of  the  mechanics  of  reading  was  all  that 
seemed  to  be  needed,  the  privately  purchased  text- 
book could  suffice.  In  our  day  when  other  ends  are 
set  up  beyond  and  above  those  of  former  days,  a 
far  more  elaborate  and  expensive  equipment  is  re- 
quired. The  city  must  now  supply  the  educational 
tools.  It  is  well  to  face  this  issue  candidly  and  to 
state  the  facts  plainly.  Relative  failure  can  be  the 
only  possible  lot  of  reluctant  communities.  They 
can  count  on  it  with  the  same  assurance  as  that  of  a 
manufacturer  of  shoes  who  attempts  to  employ  the 
methods  of  former  days  in  competition  with  modern 
methods. 

Spelling 

In  most  respects  the  work  agrees  with  the  usual 

practice  in  progressive  cities;  the  teaching  of  a  few 

122 


words  in  each  lesson;  the  frequent  and  continuous 
review  of  words  already  taught;  taking  the  words  to 
be  taught  from  the  language  experience  of  the  pupils; 
following  up  words  actually  misspelled;  studying  the 
words  from  many  angles,  etc.  The  teaching  of  spell- 
ing should  aim  to  give  the  pupils  complete  mastery 
over  those  words  which  they  need  to  use  in  writing 
and  it  should  instil  in  them  the  permanent  habit  of 
watching  their  spelling  as  they  write.  Drill  on  lists 
of  isolated  words  should  give  way  to  practice  in 
spelling  correctly  every  word  in  everything  written. 
The  dictionary  habit  should  be  cultivated,  and  every 
written  lesson  should  be  a  spelling  lesson. 


Language,  Composition,  Grammar 
The  schools  devote  about  the  usual  amount  of  time 
to  training  for  the  correct  use  of  the  mother  tongue. 
Most  of  the  time  in  intermediate  and  grammar 
grades  is  devoted  to  English  grammar.  Composi- 
tion receives  only  minor  attention. 

In  the  teaching  of  grammar  too  much  stress  is 
placed  on  forms  and  relations.  Of  course  it  is  ex- 
pected that  this  knowledge  will  be  of  service  to  the 
pupils  in  their  everyday  expression.  But  such  practi- 
cal application  of  the  knowledge  is  not  the  thing  to- 
ward which  the  work  actually  looks.  The  need  really 
achieved  is  rather  the  ability  to  recite  well  on  text- 
book grammar,  and  to  pass  good  examinations  in  the 
subject. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  facility  in  oral  and  written 
123 


expression  is,  like  everything  else,  mainly  developed 
through  much  practice.  The  form  and  style  of  ex- 
pression are  perfected  mainly  through  the  conscious 
and  unconscious  imitation  of  good  models.  Techni- 
cal grammar  plays,  or  should  play,  the  relatively 
minor  role  of  assisting  students  to  eliminate  and  to 
avoid  certain  types  of  error.  Since  grammar  has  this 
perfectly  practical  function  to  perform,  probably 
only  those  things  needed  should  be  taught;  but  more 
important  still,  everything  taught  should  be  con- 
stantly put  to  use  by  the  pupils  in  their  oversight 
of  their  own  speech  and  writing.  Only  as  knowledge 
is  put  to  work  is  it  really  learned  or  assimilated. 

The  work  in  technical  grammar  should  be  con- 
tinued for  the  purpose  of  giving  the  pupils  a  founda- 
tion acquaintance  with  forms,  terms,  relations,  and 
grammatical  perspective,  but  this  training  need  not 
be  so  extensive  and  intensive  as  at  present.  The  time 
saved  should  be  given  to  oral  and  written  expression 
in  connection  with  the  reading  of  history,  geography, 
industrial  studies,  civics,  sanitation,  and  the  like. 


Mathematics 
Cleveland  gives  more  time  to  mathematics  than  does 
the  average  city.  The  content  of  courses  in  mathe- 
matics is  to  be  determined  by  human  needs.  A  fun- 
damental need  of  our  scientific  age  is  more  accurate 
quantitative  thinking  about  our  vocations,  civic 
problems,  taxation,  income,  insurance,  expendi- 
tures, public  improvements,  and  the  multitude  of 
124 


other  public  and  private  problems  involving  quanti- 
ties. We  need  to  think  accurately  and  easily  in 
quantities,  proportions,  forms,  and  relationships. 
Arithmetic  teaching,  Hke  the  teaching  of  penman- 
ship, is  for  the  purpose  of  providing  tools  to  be  used 
in  matters  that  lie  beyond.  The  present  course  of 
study  is  of  superior  character,  providing  for  efficient 
elementary  training  and  dispensing  with  most  of  the 
things  of  little  practical  use.  The  greatest  improve- 
ment in  the  work  is  to  be  found  in  its  further  carry- 
ing over  into  the  other  fields  of  school  work  and  in 
applying  it  in  other  classes  as  well  as  in  the  arith- 
metic class.  In  the  advanced  classes  mathematics 
should  be  differentiated  according  to  the  needs  of 
different  pupils.  Algebra  should  be  more  closely  re- 
lated to  practical  matters  and  developed  in  connec- 
tion with  geometry  and  trigonometry. 

History 
The  curriculum  makers  for  elementary  education  do 
not  seem  to  have  placed  a  high  valuation  upon  his- 
tory. Apparently  it  has  not  been  considered  an  es- 
sential study  of  high  worth,  like  reading,  writing, 
speUing,  grammar,  and  arithmetic.  To  history  are 
allotted  but  290  hours  in  Cleveland,  as  against  496 
hours  in  the  average  of  50  progressive  American 
cities.  This  discrepancy  should  give  the  city  pause 
and  concern.  If  a  mistake  is  being  made,  it  is  more 
likely  to  be  on  the  part  of  an  individual  city  than 
upon  that  of  50  cities.  The  probabiUty  is  that  Cleve- 
land is  giving  too  little  time  to  this  subject. 
125 


History  receives  much  less  attention  in  this  city 
than  in  the  average  city.  The  character  of  the  work 
is  really  indicated  by  the  last  sentence  of  the  eighth 
grade  history  assignment:  "The  text  of  our  book 
should  be  thoroughly  mastered."  The  work  is  too 
brief,  abstract,  and  barren  to  help  the  pupils  toward 
an  understanding  of  the  social,  political,  economic, 
and  industrial  problems  with  which  we  are  con- 
fronted. It  should  be  amply  supplemented  by  a 
wide  range  of  reading  on  social  welfare  topics.  This 
reading  should  be  biographical,  anecdotal,  thrilling 
dramas  of  human  achievement,  rich  with  human  in- 
terest. It  should  be  at  every  stage  on  the  level 
with  the  understanding  and  degree  of  maturity  of 
the  pupils  so  that  much  reading  can  be  covered 
rapidly. 

The  textbooks  of  the  present  type  can  be  employed 
as  a  part  of  this  preliminary  training.  Read  in  their 
entirety  and  read  rapidly,  they  give  one  that  per- 
spective which  comes  from  a  comprehensive  view 
of  the  entire  field.  But  they  are  too  short  and  too  ex- 
clusively devoted  to  the  presentation  of  bare  facts 
to  afford  valuable  concrete  historical  experience. 
They  are  excellent  reference  books  for  gaining  and 
keeping  historical  perspective. 

Reading  of  the  character  that  we  have  here  called 
preliminary  should  not  cease  as  the  other  historical 
studies  are  taken  up.  The  general  studies  should  cer- 
tainly continue  for  some  portion  of  the  time  through 
the  grammar  grades  and  high  school,  but  it  probably 
should  be  mainly  supervised  reading  of  interesting 
126 


materials  rather  than  recitation  and  examination 
work. 

We  would  recommend  that  the  high  schools  give 
careful  attention  to  the  recommendation  of  the  Na- 
tional Education  Association  Committee  on  the  Re- 
organization of  the  Secondary  Course  of  Study  in 
History. 

Civics 
Civic  training  scarcely  finds  a  place  upon  the  ele- 
mentary school  program.  The  manual  suggests  that 
one-quarter  of  the  history  time — 10  to  20  minutes  per 
week — in  the  fifth  and  sixth  grades  should  be  given 
to  a  discussion  of  such  civic  topics  as  the  depart- 
ment of  public  service,  street  cleaning,  garbage  dis- 
posal, health  and  sanitation,  the  city  water  supply, 
the  mayor  and  the  council,  the  treasurer,  and  the 
auditor.  The  topics  are  important,  but  the  time  al- 
lowed is  inadequate  and  the  pupils  of  these  grades 
are  so  immature  that  no  final  treatment  of  such  com- 
plicated matters  is  possible.  For  seventh  and  eighth 
grades,  the  manual  makes  no  reference  to  civics. 
This  is  the  more  surprising  because  Cleveland  is  a 
city  in  which  there  has  been  no  end  of  civic  dis- 
cussion and  progressive  human-welfare  effort.  The 
extraordinary  value  of  civic  education  in  the  ele- 
mentary school,  as  a  means  of  furthering  civic  wel- 
fare, should  have  received  more  decided  recognition. 
The  elementary  teachers  and  principals  of  Cleve- 
land might  profitably  make  such  a  civic  survey  as 
that  made  in  Cincinnati  as  the  method  of  discover- 
127 


ing  the  topics  that  should  enter  a  grammar  grade 
course.  The  heavy  emphasis  upon  this  subject  should 
be  reserved  for  the  later  grades  of  the  elementary 
school. 

Geography 
Geography  in  Cleveland  is  given  the  customary 
amount  of  time,  though  it  is  distributed  over  the 
grades  in  a  somewhat  unusual  way.  It  is  exception- 
ally heavy  in  the  intermediate  grades  and  corre- 
spondingly light  in  the  grammar  grades.  As  geog- 
raphy, like  all  other  subjects,  is  more  and  more 
humanized  and  socialized  in  its  reference,  much 
more  time  will  be  called  for  in  the  last  two  grammar 
grades. 

A  new  course  of  study  in  geography  is  now  being 
put  into  use.  The  work  as  laid  out  in  the  old  manual 
and  as  seen  in  the  classrooms  has  been  forbiddingly 
formal.  It  has  mainly  consisted  of  the  teacher  as- 
signing to  the  pupils  a  certain  number  of  paragraphs 
or  pages  in  the  textbook  as  the  next  lesson,  and  then 
questioning  them  next  day  to  ascertain  how  much  of 
this  printed  material  they  have  remembered  and  how 
well.  The  new  course  of  study  recognizes,  on  the 
contrary,  that  the  proper  end  of  geographical  teach- 
ing is  rather  to  stimulate  and  guide  the  children  to- 
ward an  inquiring  interest  as  to  how  the  world  is 
made,  and  the  skies  above,  and  the  waters  round 
about,  and  the  conditions  of  nature  that  limit  and 
determine  in  a  measure  the  development  of  man- 
kind. To  attain  this  ideal  will  require  in  every  school 
128 


10  times  as  adequate  provision  of  geographical  read- 
ing and  geographical  material  as  is  now  found  in  the 
best  equipped  school. 


Drawing  and  Applied  Art 
The  elementary  schools  are  giving  the  usual  propor- 
tion of  time  to  drawing  and  applied  art.  The  time  is 
distributed,  however,  in  a  somewhat  unusual,  but 
probably  justifiable,  manner.  Whereas  the  subject 
usually  receives  more  time  in  the  primary  grades 
than  in  the  grammar  grades,  in  Cleveland,  in  quite 
the  reverse  way,  the  subject  receives  its  greatest 
emphasis  in  the  higher  grades. 

Drawing  and  applied  art  have  been  taught  in 
Cleveland  since  1849.  The  object  of  the  teaching  is 
to  develop  an  understanding  and  appreciation  of  the 
principles  of  graphic  art  and  ability  to  use  these 
principles  in  practical  applications.  Where  this 
work  is  done  best,  it  shows,  in  both  the  elementary 
and  high  schools,  balanced  understanding  and  com- 
plete modernness.  What  is  needed  is  extension  of  this 
best  type  of  work  to  all  parts  of  the  city  through 
specially  trained  departmental  teachers. 


Manual  Training  and  Household  Arts 
In  the  grammar  grades  manual  and  household  train- 
ing receives  an  average  proportion  of  the  time.   In 
the  grades  before  the  seventh,  the  subject  receives 
considerably  less  than  the  usual  amount  of  time. 
9  129 


It  is  easy  to  see  the  social  and  educational  justi- 
fication of  courses  in  sewing,  cooking,  household 
sanitation,  household  decoration,  etc.,  for  the  girls. 
They  assist  in  the  training  for  complicated  vocational 
activities  performed  in  some  degree  at  least  by  most 
women.  Where  women  are  so  situated  that  they  do 
not  actually  perform  them,  they  need,  for  properly 
supervising  others  and  for  making  intelligible  and 
appreciative  use  of  the  labors  of  others,  a  consider- 
able understanding  of  these  various  matters.  Where 
this  work  for  girls  is  at  its  best  in  Cleveland,  it  ap- 
pears to  be  of  a  superior  character  and  should  be  ex- 
tended along  lines  now  being  followed. 

When  we  turn  to  the  manual  training  of  the  boys, 
we  are  confronted  with  problems  of  much  greater 
difficulty.  Women's  household  occupations,  so  far 
as  retained  in  the  home,  are  unspecialized.  Each 
well-trained  household  worker  does  or  supervises 
much  the  same  range  of  things  as  every  other.  To 
give  the  entire  range  of  household  occupations  to  all 
girls  is  a  simple  and  logical  arrangement. 

But  man's  labor  is  greatly  specialized  throughout. 
There  is  no  large  remnant  of  unspecialized  labor 
conmion  to  all,  as  in  the  case  of  women.  In  the  case 
of  men  the  unspecialized  field  has  disappeared. 
There  is  nothing  of  labor  to  give  to  boys  except  that 
which  has  become  specialized. 

A  fundamental  problem  arises.  Shall  we  give  boys 

access  to  a  variety  of  specialized  occupations  so  that 

they  may  become  acquainted,  through  responsible 

performance,  with  the  wide  and  diversified  field  of 

130 


man's  labor?  Or  shall  we  give  them  some  less  spe- 
cialized sample  out  of  that  diversified  field  so  that 
they  may  obtain,  through  contact  and  experience, 
some  knowledge  of  the  things  that  make  up  the  world 
of  productive  labor  ? 

Cleveland's  reply,  to  judge  from  actual  practices, 
is  that  a  single  sample  will  be  sufl&cient  for  all  except 
those  who  attend  technical  and  special  schools. 
The  city  has  therefore  chosen  joinery  and  cabinet- 
making  as  this  sample.  Much  of  this  work  is  of  a 
rather  formal  character,  apparently  looking  toward 
that  manual  discipline  formerly  called  "training  of 
eye  and  hand,"  instead  of  consciously  answering  to 
the  demands  of  social  purposes.  The  regular  teachers 
look  upon  the  fifth  and  sixth  grade  sloyd  which  they 
teach  with  no  great  enthusiasm.  Seventh  and  eighth 
grade  teachers  do  not  greatly  value  the  work. 

The  report  recommends  that  manual  training  be 
continued,  extended,  and  diversified  with  the  double 
object  of  helping  solve  the  problems  of  vocational 
guidance  and  of  acquainting  boys  with  the  nature  of 
work  and  work  responsibility  through  experience. 


Elementary  Science 
This  subject  finds  no  place  upon  the  program.  No 
elaborate  argument  should  be  required  to  convince 
the  authorities  in  charge  of  the  school  system  of  a 
modem  city  like  Cleveland  that  in  this  ultra-scien- 
tific age  the  children  who  do  not  go  beyond  the  ele- 
mentary school — and  they  constitute  a  majority — 
131 


need  to  possess  a  working  knowledge  of  the  rudi- 
ments of  science  if  they  are  to  make  their  lives 
effective. 

Elementary  science  finds  no  place  in  the  course  of 
study  of  Cleveland.  The  future  citizens  of  Cleveland 
will  need  an  understanding  of  electricity,  heat,  ex- 
pansion, and  contraction  of  gases  and  soUds,  the 
mechanics  of  machines,  distillations,  common  chemi- 
cal reactions,  and  the  multitude  of  other  matters  of 
science  met  with  daily  in  their  activities.  The  schools 
should  help  supply  this  need. 

Physiology  and  Hygiene 
Teaching  in  matters  pertaining  to  health  is  assigned 
little  time  in  the  elementary  schools,  and  the  time 
that  is  assigned  to  it  is  frequently  given  to  something 
else.  The  subject  gets  pushed  off  the  program  by  one 
of  the  so-called  "essentials."  The  survey  recom- 
mends that  four  steps  be  taken  to  help  remedy  the 
situation: 

1.  A  course  in  hygiene  and  sanitation,  based  upon 
an  abundance  of  reading,  should  be  drawn  up  and 
taught  by  the  regular  teachers  in  the  grammar  school 
grades. 

2.  The  schools  should  arrange  for  practical  appli- 
cations of  the  preparatory  knowledge  in  as  many 
ways  as  possible.  Children  in  relays  can  look  after 
the  ventilation,  temperature,  humidity,  dust,  light, 
and  other  sanitary  conditions  of  schoolrooms  and 
grounds. 

3.  The  corps  of  school  nurses  should  be  gradually 

132 


enlarged,  and  after  a  time  they  can  be  given  any 
needed  training  for  teaching  that  will  enable  them, 
as  the  work  is  departmentalized  in  the  grammar 
grades,  to  become  departmental  teachers  in  this  sub- 
ject for  a  portion  of  their  time. 

4.  The  things  recommended  for  the  elementary 
schools  need  to  be  carried  out  in  the  high  schools  also. 


Physical  Training 
Physical  training  is  given  about  as  much  time  as  in 
the  average  city,  but  without  adequate  faciHties  for 
outdoor  and  indoor  plays  and  games.  At  present 
the  work  is  too  largely  of  the  formal  gymnastic  type. 
Desirable  improvements  in  the  course  are  being  ad- 
vocated by  the  directors  and  supervisors  of  the  work. 
They  are  recommending  and  introducing,  where  con- 
ditions will  permit,  the  use  of  games,  athletics,  folk 
dances,  and  the  like.  The  movement  should  be  pro- 
moted in  every  possible  way. 


Music 
In  the  elementary  schools  Cleveland  gives  more  than 
the  average  amount  of  time  to  music,  but  in  the  high 
schools  the  subject  is  developed  only  incidentally 
and  is  given  no  credit.  It  is  a  question  whether  this 
arrangement  is  the  right  one,  and  in  considering 
possible  extensions  it  should  be  remembered  that 
there  are  other  subjects  of  far  more  pressing  immedi- 
ate necessity. 

133 


Foreign  Languages 
It  is  impossible  in  the  brief  survey  report  to  discuss 
adequately  so  complicated  a  matter  as  that  of  the 
teaching  of  foreign  languages  in  the  high  schools, 
but  some  of  the  most  important  of  the  questions  at 
issue  have  been  indicated  as  matters  which  the  school 
authorities  should  continue  to  study  until  satis- 
factory solutions  are  reached. 

Differentiation  of  Courses 
In  a  city  with  a  population  so  diversified  as  is  that  of 
Cleveland,  progress  should  be  made  steadily  and  con- 
sciously away  from  city-wide  uniformity  in  courses 
of  study  and  methods  of  teaching.  There  should  be 
progressive  differentiation  of  courses  to  meet  the 
widely  varying  needs  of  the  different  sorts  of  chil- 
dren in  different  sections  of  the  city. 


Conclusions  and  Recommendations 
1.  A  fundamental  principle  of  the  curriculum  should 
be  that  effective  teaching  is  preparation  for  adult  life 
through  participation  in  the  activities  of  Ufe. 

2.  The  work  in  reading  should  be  made  more  ex- 
tensive and  less  intensive,  and  as  a  means  toward 
this  end  the  city  should  adopt  the  free  textbook 
policy. 

3.  Work  in  spelling  needs  further  modernization 
through  concentration  on  the  words  most  frequently 
used  in  adult  life  and  through  the  development  of  a 

134 


habit  of  watchfulness  over  speUing  during  the  process 
of  writing. 

4.  Less  time  should  be  devoted  to  formal  grammar 
and  more  to  oral  and  written  expression  in  connection 
with  the  reading  of  history,  geography,  industrial 
studies,  civics,  sanitation,  and  the  like. 

5.  The  present  course  of  study  in  arithmetic  is  of 
superior  character,  providing  for  efficient  elementary 
training  and  dispensing  with  most  of  the  things  of 
little  practical  use. 

6.  The  work  in  history  should  be  made  less  brief, 
abstract,  and  barren  by  providing  an  abundance  of 
reading  on  important  and  interesting  social  topics. 

7.  The  teaching  of  civics  receives  too  Uttle  atten- 
tion. 

8.  The  development  of  a  new  course  in  geography 
is  commended,  and  attention  is  called  to  the  need 
for  greatly  increased  provision  of  geographical  read- 
ing and  material. 

9.  The  teaching  of  household  arts  is  commended 
and  the  recommendation  is  made  that  manual  train- 
ing for  boys  should  be  extended  and  broadened  with 
a  view  to  giving  the  pupils  real  contact  with  more 
types  of  industry  than  those  represented  by  the  pres- 
ent woodwork. 

10.  Courses  in  elementary  science  should  be  estab- 
lished. 

11.  Teaching  in  matters  pertaining  to  health 
should  be  given  more  time  and  a  course  in  hygiene 
should  be  drawn  up. 

12.  More  of  the  time  devoted  to  physical  training 

135 


should  be  devoted  to  plays  and  games  and  less  to 
formal  gymnasium  work. 

13.  More  attention  should  be  given  to  the  pro- 
gressive differentiation  of  courses  to  meet  the  widely 
varied  needs  of  the  different  sorts  of  children  in  the 
different  sections  of  the  city. 

14.  Where  school  work  in  Cleveland  is  backward, 
it  is  because  it  has  not  yet  taken  on  the  social  point 
of  view.  Where  it  is  progressive,  it  is  being  developed 
on  the  basis  of  human  needs.  There  is  much  of  both 
kinds  of  work  in  Cleveland. 


136 


CHAPTER  VIII 

MEASURING  THE  WORK  OF  THE  PUBLIC 
SCHOOLS 

(Charles  Hubbard  Judd) 

The  studies  included  in  this  report  are  in  an  im- 
portant sense  of  the  term  the  central  studies  of  the 
educational  survey.  Seven  members  of  the  Survey 
Stafif  devoted  a  large  part  of  their  time  to  the  collec- 
tion and  interpretation  of  the  data  presented. 

In  the  latest  report  of  the  superintendent  of 
schools,  it  was  stated  that  in  June,  1914,  10,000 
pupils  in  the  elementary  schools  failed  to  be  pro- 
moted. This  is  a  record  of  10,000  educational  and 
social  problems.  Furthermore,  the  same  report 
states  that  nearly  1,400  of  these  10,000  pupils  were 
repeating  the  work  of  their  grades  and  were,  there- 
fore, faiUng  for  a  second  time  in  the  same  courses. 
This  means  that  in  1,400  cases  repetition  of  the  work 
was  unsuccessful  in  overcoming  the  trouble. 

These  figures  present  in  a  striking  way  one  of  the 
questions  which  all  who  are  interested  in  the  schools 
must  face.  The  teachers  and  principals  find,  when 
they  try  to  administer  the  present  course  of  study  to 
children  of  the  type  who  attend  the  Cleveland  schools 
that  10,000  children,  or  on  the  average  every  seventh 

137 


child,  fails  for  some  reason  to  meet  the  normal  ex- 
pectation that  a  half  year's  work  can  be  done  during 
each  semester.  The  result  of  non-promotion  is  that 
the  schools  become  congested  in  the  lower  grades; 
children  become  discouraged  and  give  up  trying  to 
do  their  work;  and  the  whole  machinery  is  clogged 
by  these  failures. 

Aggregate  Failures  in  All  Grades 
Diagram  14  shows  the  percentage  of  failures  in  each 
grade  for  the  whole  system  and  for  three  successive 
June  promotions.  It  will  be  seen  that  in  June,  1913, 
there  was  a  failure  of  17  per  cent  of  all  the  pupils  in 
the  first  grade.  In  the  same  year  there  failed  in  the 
second  grade  only  12.6  per  cent. 

The  high  percentage  of  failures  in  the  first  grade  is 
partly  explained  by  the  fact  that  children  have  some 
difficulty  during  the  first  year  in  adjusting  them- 
selves to  school  conditions.  It  is  true  almost  every- 
where in  the  country  that  there  are  many  failures 
in  the  first  grade.  The  decrease  in  percentage  of 
failures  in  the  second  grade  is  also  in  keeping  with 
the  experience  of  other  school  systems  and  indi- 
cates that  school  work  is  going  forward  better  after 
the  adjustments  made  in  the  first  grade. 

The  favorable  promise  of  the  second  grade  is, 
however,  not  fulfilled  by  the  subsequent  grades. 
Steadily  the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  grades  show  an 
impressive  increase  in  non-promotions.  This  means 
that  problems  are  multiplying  and  are  not  being 
138 


solved.  The  sixth  grade  seems  to  be  better,  though 
it  will  be  noted  that  the  situation  is  no  better  than 
it  was  in  the  first  grade.  Furthermore,  the  apparent 

Per 
cent 


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'  ^  / 

\. 

y 

\ 

/ 

•V 

10 

•    1 

• 

'■ 

5 

. 

L       'i 

I    : 

s     » 

f     \ 

}                i 

> 

J      s 

1911* 
1915 

1913 


GRADES 

Diagram  14. — Per  cent  of  failures  in  each  grade  for  three 
successive  June  promotions 


improvement  in  the  sixth  grade  is  partly  deceptive, 

because  by  this  grade  some  children  have  been 

eliminated.    In  the  seventh  grade  conditions  grow 

139 


no  better.  In  the  eighth  grade  the  situation  is  better 
than  elsewhere. 


Mental  Incapacity  as  an  Explanation 
The  superintendent's  pubUshed  reports  contain  each 
year  a  table  showing  the  reasons  assigned  by  the 
teachers  for  non-promotions.  The  most  conspicuous 
cause  of  non-promotion  is  "mental  incapacity." 
A  study  of  the  figures  of  the  reports  shows  that  in- 
capacity follows  the  same  general  lines  as  non-pro- 
motion. One  can  hardly  escape  the  conclusion  that 
if  mental  incapacity  steadily  increases  in  the  third, 
fourth,  and  fifth  grades,  and  stands  at  a  high  level 
in  the  sixth  and  seventh,  there  must  be  some  ques- 
tion about  the  appropriateness  of  the  demands  made 
upon  the  pupils  in  these  grades. 

Failures  in  Subjects 
Non-promotion  means,  of  course,  that  pupils  have 
not  met  the  requirements  of  their  grades  in  the  par- 
ticular subjects  taught  in  these  grades.  Our  study 
of  the  problem  can,  therefore,  be  carried  further  by 
examining  the  records  of  pupils  in  some  of  the  lead- 
ing subjects  in  the  course  of  study. 

Failures  in  Reading 
In  reading  there  is  a  very  large  percentage  of  failures 
in  the  first  grade.  The  percentage  drops  in  the  second 
and  third  grades,  and  from  this  point  on  the  number 

140 


of  failures  is  relatively  small  and  steadily  decreasing. 
This  represents  what  would  naturally  be  expected 
in  any  subject  which  is  carried  throughout  the  grades, 
and  is  successful  in  its  training  of  the  children.  The 
results  in  reading  thus  stand  in  sharp  contrast  with 
the  general  results  presented  in  Diagram  14.  There 
is  no  evidence  in  the  records  of  reading  that  men- 
tal incapacity  increases  in  the  intermediate  grades. 
Evidently  we  may  infer  from  the  reports  in  reading 
that  the  schools  look  upon  their  work  in  this  subject 
as  in  the  main  successful. 


Failures  in  Arithmetic 
The  reports  on  arithmetic  are  altogether  different 
from  those  on  reading,  and  bring  us  back  to  the  strik- 
ing problems  raised  by  a  study  of  Diagram  14.  It 
should  be  noted  that  a  new  course  in  arithmetic 
went  into  operation  with  the  opening  of  the  present 
school  year.  The  records  relate  to  the  old  course. 
In  the  first  grade  only  a  little  arithmetic  appeared  in 
the  course  of  study.  After  this  grade  arithmetic 
becomes  an  important  subject,  and  the  number 
of  failures  increased  enormously  through  the  third, 
fourth,  and  fifth  grades.  In  the  sixth,  seventh,  and 
eighth  grades  there  was  a  decline,  although  the  per- 
centage of  failures  remained  relatively  high. 

The  striking  resemblance  between  many  of  the 

characteristics  of  these  arithmetic  results  and  those 

of  the  general  curve  of  non-promotion  can  hardly 

escape  the  most  casual  observer.   It  is  obvious  that 

141 


one  of  the  major  reasons  for  the  increase  in  non- 
promotions  from  the  third  to  the  fifth  grades  was 
the  diflficulty  which  children  encountered  in  arith- 
metic. 

As  indicated  above,  the  course  in  arithmetic  has 
been  modified,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  in  the  future 
no  such  record  of  failures  will  be  possible.  The  sig- 
nificance of  such  studies  as  those  which  are  set  forth 
here  is  thus  illustrated.  If  such  comparisons  are 
made  up  from  year  to  year  and  adopted  as  a  basis  of 
supervision,  those  subjects  which  are  giving  the  chil- 
dren serious  difl&culty  will  immediately  be  recog- 
nized. The  change  in  arithmetic  is  to  be  commended. 


Records  of  Individual  Grades  and  Schools 
In  the  complete  report  the  comparisons  that  have 
been  mentioned  are  fully  illustrated  by  diagrams  and 
tables.  Moreover,  they  are  supplemented  by  a  pres- 
entation of  the  records  of  failures  in  other  sub- 
jects. 

All  of  this  is  rendered  still  more  illuminating  by 
carrjdng  the  study  down  to  the  individual  schools. 
The  results  of  these  comparisons  show  that:  (1)  The 
per  cent  of  failures  varies  from  none  in  some  schools 
to  more  than  30  in  others.  (2)  In  some  schools 
practically  all  the  children  have  regularly  been  sent 
forward  at  each  promotion  period  over  a  series  of 
years.  (3)  In  other  schools  a  large  proportion  of  all 
children  have  failed  of  promotion  at  each  period  for 
several  years.   (4)  Some  schools  have  had  almost  no 

142 


failures  at  certain  promotion  periods  and  a  great 
many  at  other  periods.  (5)  In  some  schools  there  are 
numerous  failures  in  the  lower  grades.  In  others 
they  occur  in  the  intermediate  grades  and  in  still 
others  in  the  higher  grades. 


The  Need  for  Scientific  Supervision 
It  is  perfectly  clear  that  the  facts  of  non-promotion 
show  a  lack  of  complete  organization  and  unity 
within  the  school  system.  An  analysis  like  that  pre- 
sented in  the  report  represents  a  type  of  supervision, 
based  on  fact,  which  must  come  in  every  school 
system.  There  was  a  time  when  small  school  sys- 
tems and  relatively  simple  courses  of  study  could  be 
governed  and  supervised  by  central  school  officials 
who  could  keep  under  direct  personal  observation 
all  the  activities  of  the  teachers.  Opinion  was  the 
basis  of  action.  That  time  has  passed.  In  a  system 
of  one  hundred  elementary  schools,  methods  of 
supervision  must  be  worked  out  and  put  in  operation 
which  are  impersonal.  Cleveland  should  at  once  set 
up  the  administrative  machinery  for  making  con- 
stant, exhaustive  studies  of  non-promotions  and  of 
other  problems  of  a  similar  nature.  There  is  a  special 
technique  of  administrative  inquiry  which  should  be 
cultivated  in  school  systems,  as  it  is  being  culti- 
vated in  all  great  business  concerns.  Money  spent 
in  central  administration  is  well  spent  if  it  produces 
a  system  of  scientific  general  supervision. 


143 


OBSERVATIONS  IN  THE  SCHOOLS 

As  a  preliminary  to  more  exact  studies  of  the  results 
of  classwork,  members  of  the  Survey  Staff  visited 


TABLE    7.— RECITATIONS    ON    WHICH    WRITTEN    REPORTS 
WERE  MADE  BY  MEMBERS  OF  THE  SURVEY  STAFF 


Elementary  schools 

High  schools 

Reading 

453 

English 

34 

Arithmetio 

146 

Domestic  science 

18 

Language 

83 

Drawing 

18 

Domestic  science 

57 

German 

16 

Geography 

SpelUng 

History 

52 

Shop  work 

16 

44 

Civics 

15 

42 

History 

13 

Manual  training 

30 

Latin 

13 

Writing 

27 

Physics 

11 

Physical  training 

25 

Geometry 

10 

Musio 

19 

Algebra 

9 

Sewing 

11 

Bookkeeping 

9 

Sense  training 

10 

Manual  training 

9 

Drawing 

0 

Physical  training 

8 

Nature  study 

8 

Physiology 

8 

Supervised  study 

8 

Arithmetio 

7 

German 

7 

Geography 

6 

Physiology 
Unclassified 

7 

Chemistry 

S 

5 

Supervised  study 
Typewriting 

6 
6 

Total 

1.043 

Botany 

4 

Oratory 
Printing 

4 

3 

Evening  schools 
Shop  work 
English 

21 
12 

8 

Writing 
Banking 
Salesmanship 

3 

2 
2 

Drawing 

Total 

253 

Dressmaking 

8 

Arithmetic 

Reading 

History 

7 

7 
4 

Special  classes 

Millinery 

4 

Backward 

34 

Grammar 

3 

Defective 

33 

Agriculture 
Chemistry 

2 

Deaf 

20 

2 

Industrial 

15 

Geography 
Spelling 

2 

Cripple 

Blind 

Training  centers 

14 

1 

13 
13 

Total 

81 

Boys'  school 

12 

Steamer 
Open  air 

11 

10 

Epileptic 

1 

ToUl 

176 

144 


all  the  schools  of  the  city.  Table  7  shows  the  number 
and  distribution  of  these  visits,  1,553  in  number. 
Every  building  in  the  city  was  visited  at  least  once 
and  many  of  them  were  visited  repeatedly.  The 
largest  number  of  visits  to  any  single  building  was 
31.  The  total  number  of  building  visits  was  632  and 
that  of  school  room  visits  1,553. 

Methods  of  Recording  Visits 
Each  visit  was  recorded  on  a  card.  The  upper  part 
of  the  card,  after  locating  the  visit  by  school  and  date, 
described  the  visitor's  first  impression  about  the 
physical  conditions  of  the  building.  Then  came  a 
description  of  the  pupils  and  their  reactions.  Third, 
the  teacher  and  the  methods  employed  in  instruc- 
tion were  reported.  Finally,  there  were  remarks  on 
the  course  of  study,  the  character  of  supervision  in 
that  school,  and  matters  in  general.  These  cards  were 
filed  in  the  office  of  the  survey.  Whenever  a  spe- 
cialist studying  some  other  phase  of  the  work  came  to 
join  the  staff,  these  cards  gave  him  an  opportunity 
to  learn  something  of  the  instructional  side  of  the 
work.  Whenever  something  of  special  interest  about 
a  school  turned  up,  the  cards  were  consulted  for 
further  light  or  for  confirmation.  In  some  cases  re- 
peated visits  were  made. 

General  Conclusions  from  Visits 

Among  the  general  conclusions  repeatedly  noted  by 

those  who  observed  the  work  in  the  classrooms  there 

are  several  that  stand  out  as  being  particularly  im- 

10  145 


portant.  The  first  of  these  is  that  the  Cleveland 
schools  face  a  grave  problem  m  the  number  of  chil- 
dren from  homes  where  the  influence  of  European 
life  is  still  very  strong.  The  problems  which  grow  out 
of  a  lack  of  EngUsh  training  at  home  are  numerous 
and  urgent.  Especially  in  the  lower  grades  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  reading  matter  supplied  to  foreign  chil- 
dren is  often  ill  adapted  to  their  needs. 

Attention  to  the  needs  of  foreign  children  ought  to 
bring  into  the  schools  more  studies  of  a  social  type 
which  will  acquaint  all  the  children  with  the  organ- 
ization of  the  city  and  the  duty  of  the  individual  to 
the  community.  Many  such  studies  could  profitably 
be  prepared  by  the  pupils  themselves. 

Emphasis  on  Tra.ditional  Subjects 
Even  the  casual  visitor  in  the  Cleveland  schools 
notices  the  great  emphasis  which  is  laid  on  the  tra- 
ditional subjects.  The  course  of  study  has  been  very 
little  expanded.  This  is  sometimes  expressed  in  the 
statement  that  "Cleveland  has  not  gone  after  fads." 
So  conservative  has  the  system  been  that  many  new 
and  productive  lines  of  work  have  not  been  taken 
up.  In  the  fight  of  present-day  experience,  the  pres- 
ent course  of  study  appears  to  be  narrower  than 
Cleveland  ought  to  have  and  the  emphasis  on  formal 
training  is  excessive. 

Behavior  in  Classes  Excellent 

One  fact  noted  on  aU  sides  is  that  the  order  in  most 

schools  is  excellent.   The  children  seem  to  be  docile 

146 


and  willing  to  do  what  is  asked.  To  be  sure,  there  is 
at  times  a  lack  of  spontaneity  and  enthusiasm;  but 
quiet,  orderly  conduct  was  everywhere  the  rule. 


Fluctuations  in  Quality  of  Teaching  and 
Supervision 
An  impression  which  was  reported  by  every  observer 
is  that  the  quality  of  the  instruction  exhibited 
throughout  the  system  is  very  uneven.  Here  and 
there  some  teacher  stands  out  as  full  of  energy  and 
as  thoroughly  in  command  of  his  or  her  sphere  of 
action.  On  the  other  hand,  some  cases  of  teaching 
were  observed  which  are  so  bad  that  it  is  surprising 
to  find  them  in  the  system. 


Observations  on  Supervision 
It  is  the  judgment  of  the  Survey  Staff  that  super- 
vision is  one  of  the  weakest  phases  of  the  school 
system  of  Cleveland.  There  are  principals  in  both 
the  elementary  and  the  high  schools  who  are  with- 
out sufficient  training  for  their  duties,  without  ade- 
quate information  as  to  what  is  going  on  about  them, 
and  without  comprehensive  grasp  of  educational 
problems.  Many  of  the  elementary  principals  have 
had  Uttle  contact  with  the  current  educational  move- 
ments. Many  of  them  have  been  in  the  system  for  a 
long,  long  time  and  are  conducting  the  schools  today 
on  the  basis  of  opinions  about  school  organization 
which  originated  before  the  stirring  developments  in 
147 


education  which  have  brought  new  and  better 
equipped  buildings,  a  richer  course  of  study,  and 
scientific  methods  of  supervision.  The  high  school 
principals  spend  too  much  time  and  energy  in  the 
discussion  of  matters  that  smack  of  competition  be- 
tween different  high  schools.  In  the  meantime  it  is 
obvious  that  the  high  schools  of  Cleveland  are  very 
much  in  need  of  supervision.  Good  supervision  would 
eliminate  some  of  the  very  bad  teaching  that  was 
seen  and  would  unify  the  high  school  system  so  that 
it  would  become  a  cooperating  system  of  institutions. 

Dearth  of  Men  in  Elementary  Schools 
Another  impressive  characteristic  of  Cleveland  is 
the  dearth  of  men  in  the  elementary  schools.  The 
boys  of  Cleveland  suffer  by  not  having  men  to  con- 
sult, especially  in  the  upper  grades.  In  other  sec- 
tions of  the  report  the  salaries  paid  to  principals  are 
discussed.  Men  would  cost  more  than  Cleveland  is 
now  paying  for  elementary  principals.  The  invest- 
ment would  undoubtedly  pay. 

Central  Supervision 
One  other  matter  which  falls  under  the  head  of  com- 
ment rather  than  under  the  head  of  observation  in 
the  schools  may  be  formulated  in  the  statement  that 
the  central  administrative  oflBcers  who  are  in  charge 
of  the  schools  have  in  their  hands  a  great  body  of 
information  which  lies  undigested  year  after  year. 
The  statistical  department  is  burdened  with  re- 
148 


quisitions  for  supplies  and  there  is  no  surplus  energy 
to  do  more  than  collect  and  tabulate  reports.  Cleve- 
land has  a  body  of  statistical  material  now  on  hand 
which  is  not  paralleled  for  richness  and  value  any- 
where in  the  country.  This  material  ought  to  be  used 
for  administrative  purposes  and  not  merely  pub- 
lished from  year  to  year  without  comment. 


TESTS  AND  STATISTICAL  STUDIES 

As  soon  as  the  visiting  of  classes  was  well  under  way, 
the  Survey  Staff  asked  the  superintendent  and  the 
teachers  to  cooperate  in  bringing  together  a  body  of 
material  which  should  exhibit  in  detail  what  was 
going  on  in  some  of  the  simpler  phases  of  school  work. 
This  request  met  with  a  most  cordial  response  and 
papers  were  collected  showing  the  ability  of  pupils 
to  write,  spell,  and  work  out  simple  arithmetical 
combinations.  Tests  were  also  carried  on  by  the 
teachers  and  others  in  reading.  The  principals  pre- 
pared certain  reports,  especially  full  reports  of  the 
standings  of  all  pupils  in  the  eighth  grades  and  high 
school.  This  cooperation  brought  to  hand  abundant 
evidence  on  which  to  base  a  wholly  impersonal  view 
of  the  classwork  of  the  schools. 

Tests  Show  Wide  Variations  in  Grades 

The  impressive  fact  which  always  stands  out  in 

examining  the  results  of  a  series  of  tests  is  the  need 

in   schools   of   more   definite   standards   of   work. 

149 


Teachers  are  working  in  ignorance  of  what  they 
ought  to  accomplish  and  of  what  others  are  ac- 
compHshing.  The  fifth  grade  in  one  school  spells  a 
certain  hst  of  words  with  the  high  average  of  88 
per  cent,  while  three  fifth  grades  in  other  schools 
spell  the  same  list  with  the  low  average  of  58  per 
cent.  In  measurements  of  handwriting  it  was  found 
that  one  fifth  grade  writes  more  than  twice  as  fast 
as  another  and  one  shows  twice  the  excellence  in 
quality  shown  by  another.  In  arithmetic  and  read- 
ing there  are  wide  differences. 

Tests  Reveal  Lack  of  Definite  Aims  at  Many 

Points 
Second,  every  test  shows  that  progress  from  grade 
to  grade  can  be  clearly  defined.  When  the  results 
are  put  together,  they  show  that  there  is  a  law  of 
progress.  Once  the  law  is  exhibited,  it  is  possible  to 
judge  how  far  individual  schools  conform.  That 
this  method  of  checking  school  work  has  not  been 
used  by  teachers  and  supervisors  appears  from  the 
erratic  and  often  retrograde  scores  made  by  suc- 
cessive grades  in  the  same  school.  Thus  the  fourth 
grades  in  Cleveland  schools  average  less  well  than 
the  third  grades  in  ability  to  interpret  what  they 
read.  Certain  schools  overemphasize  speed  in  writ- 
ing, while  others  overemphasize  perfection  of  form. 
In  arithmetic,  some  sixth  grades  fall  below  the  fifth 
grades  in  the  same  school  and  even  below  the  fourth 
grades  in  mastery  of  the  fundamental  operations. 
150 


Tests  as  a  Basis  of  Administration 
No  school  system  can  free  itself  entirely  from  the 
difficulties  which  are  so  clearly  revealed  by  these 
tests  and  comparisons.  The  children  in  different 
schools  differ  one  from  another;  teachers  of  different 
degrees  of  efficiency  are  sure  to  be  found  in  all  parts 
of  the  system.  But  every  school  system  should  make 
comparative  studies  the  basis  of  supervision.  In  a 
certain  sense  this  has  been  done  in  the  past  by  the 
supervisor  who  has  visited  from  room  to  room  to 
impress  on  teachers  the  standards  which  in  his  judg- 
ment are  proper  for  each  school.  Comparisons  of  this 
type  must  be  superseded  in  a  great  school  system 
by  more  general  comparisons  and  by  comparisons 
more  nearly  exact  in  method.  The  motive  of  the 
survey  is  to  exhibit  the  need  of  such  exact  general 
comparisons  so  vividly  that  the  community  will  be 
prepared  to  support  a  continual  survey  of  all  the 
work  done  in  the  schools. 


TESTS  OF  HANDWRITING 
It  is  relatively  simple  to  gather  samples  of  hand- 
writing from  all  the  schools.    This  was  accordingly 
undertaken  as  the  first  test  of  the  series. 

Uniform  Conditions 

Even  in  the  case  of  handwriting,  it  is  necessary,  if 

the  results  are  to  be  compared,  to  secure  material 

151 


that  is  produced  under  conditions  as  nearly  uniform 
as  possible.  The  teachers  who  were  to  administer 
the  test  were  therefore  asked  to  prepare  for  the  text 
in  advance  by  requiring  the  children  to  memorize 
a  famiUar  passage  so  that  they  might  write  the  words 
without  the  distraction  which  would  come  from 
attempting  to  write  from  dictation  or  from  copy. 
The  first  three  sentences  of  Lincoln's  Gettysburg 
speech  were  used  for  this  purpose.  When  the  day  for 
the  test  arrived,  all  the  children  in  the  fifth  to  the 
eighth  grades  were  asked  to  write  as  much  as  possible 
in  exactly  two  minutes. 


Scope  op  the  Cleveland  Test 
Specimens  were  collected  from  25,387  children  in  the 
fifth  to  eighth  grades.  For  purposes  of  this  report 
a  part  of  the  results  were  worked  up  in  full.  About 
10,000  of  these  results  were  used.  They  were  taken 
entirely  at  random,  and  since  they  were  drawn  from 
36  schools,  they  may  safely  be  regarded  as  repre- 
sentative of  the  whole  system. 


Individual  Rates  op  Speed 
A  tabulation  was  made  of  the  writing  speeds  of  all 
the  children  supplying  specimens.  The  results  showed 
that  some  pupils  wrote  at  a  rate  of  less  than  nine 
letters  per  minute  while  others  wrote  almost  130 
letters  per  minute.  The  fastest  writers  wrote  more 
than  25  times  as  fast  as  the  slowest  ones. 
152 


Speed  in  Various  Grades 
The  average  results  for  entire  grades  were  scarcely- 
less  surprising  than  those  showing  the  great  variation 
between  individuals.  The  slowest  fifth  grade  proved 
to  be  only  one-half  as  fast  in  its  writing  as  the  fastest 
fifth  grade.  A  corresponding  condition  was  found 
in  the  case  of  the  sixth,  seventh,  and  eighth  grades. 
Moreover,  the  figures  show  so  great  an  overlapping 
in  speed  of  writing  among  the  different  grades  that 
if  the  upper  half  of  the  fifth  grades  should  change 
places  with  the  poorer  half  of  the  eighth  grades  the 
general  record  of  the  latter  grades  would  actually  be 
improved. 

Method  op  Rating  Quality 
Up  to  this  point  only  speed  has  been  considered. 
More  important  than  speed  is  quality.  It  is,  however, 
a  more  difiicult  task  to  determine  the  quality  of  a 
specimen  of  handwriting.  The  device  in  common  use 
for  such  rating  is  to  compare  a  given  specimen  with 
a  series  of  specimens  which  have  been  arranged  in 
order  of  legibiUty.  It  would  be  possible  to  get  a 
scoring  for  quality  by  comparing  the  Cleveland 
specimens  with  one  another  and  grading  each  with 
such  marks  as  "excellent,"  "good,"  etc.,  but  the 
use  of  a  standardized  series  has  been  found  to  give 
greater  precision  to  the  ranking,  because  judgment 
is  supported  by  constant  references  back  to  the 
standard  series  of  specimens.  It  also  makes  possible 
comparison  with  writing  in  other  school  systems. 
Furthermore,  the  standard  series  of  samples  has 
153 


been  so  arranged  that  the  successive  steps  upward 
in  quality  may  be  regarded  as  equal.  The  satis- 
factory rating  of  specimens  depends  on  some  practice 
even  when  the  standard  series  is  used.  As  a  matter  of 
practical  procedure  the  Survey  Stafif  spent  some  time 
and  effort  training  a  group  of  Cleveland  teachers  in 
the  rating  of  specimens  of  handwriting.  For  the 
purposes  of  this  report,  however,  10,528  specimens 
were  graded  by  a  member  of  the  Survey  Staff  espe- 
cially trained  in  the  work. 


Variations  in  Quality 
The  results  of  the  rating  for  quality  show  that  here, 
as  in  speed,  the  most  striking  variation  exists  be- 
tween grades  which  are  officially  recognized  as 
parallel.  Furthermore,  there  is  the  same  overlapping 
of  grades,  several  of  the  fifth  grades  ranking  higher 
than  the  average  eighth  grade. 


Relation  of  Speed  and  Quality 
After  determining  the  speed  and  quality  of  each 
specimen,  it  becomes  possible  to  work  out  with  great 
exactness  the  relation  between  these  two  character- 
istics. It  is  evident  from  ordinary  experience  that 
quality  commonly  deteriorates  when  speed  is  empha- 
sized, and  that  speed  is  slow  when  one  tries  to  write 
especially  well.  The  school  is  constantly  in  the  posi- 
tion of  seeking  some  reasonable  balance  between 
speed  and  quaUty. 

154 


By  combining  the  records  for  both  speed  and 
quality  the  survey  was  able  to  define  a  model  series 
of  both  where  improvement  in  one  does  not  seem  to 
interfere  with  the  other.  This  general  area  lies  be- 
tween quality  60  and  80  and  between  speed  60  and  80. 
Greater  speed  seems  to  be  purchased  at  an  undue 
sacrifice  of  quality  and  higher  quality  seems  to  re- 
sult in  much  lower  speed.  This  area  probably  de- 
fines the  limits  of  profitable  effort  to  improve  pupils. 


Emphasis  in  Various  Schools 
The  relative  emphasis  on  speed  and  quaUty  actually 
found  in  a  number  of  different  schools  is  set  forth 
in  Diagram  15.  The  separate  parts  of  this  diagram 
are  made  up  as  follows :  The  average  speed  of  a  grade 
is  represented  by  distances  in  the  horizontal  and 
average  quality  by  distances  in  the  vertical  scale. 
Thus,  taking  the  first  section  of  the  diagram,  that 
of  the  North  Doan  School,  the  fifth  grade  has  an 
average  speed  of  71  letters  per  minute,  and  an  aver- 
age quality  of  41.  The  sixth  grade  shows  progress  in 
both  speed  and  quality,  though  speed  increases  more 
than  quality.  The  seventh  and  eighth  grades  show 
further  progress  in  both  speed  and  quality,  the  two 
changing  at  about  the  same  rate.  The  diagram  for 
the  Kentucky  School  shows  progress  of  a  slightly 
different  type.  In  this  school  the  sixth  grade,  as 
compared  with  the  fifth,  shows  progress  in  quahty, 
but  very  little  in  speed.  Progress  from  the  sixth 
grade  on  is  about  equal  in  quahty  and  speed.   Me- 

155 


QWAUTY 


SPEED  S0     6O7D809O  50     60708090 

Dia^am  15.— Average  quality  and  average  speed  of  hand- 
writing of  pupils  of  four  upper  grades  in  10  schools.  Quality 
on  vertical  scale,  speed  on  horizontal  scale 

156 


morial  School  emphasizes  speed  almost  exclusively 
up  to  the  eighth  grade,  while  Mt.  Pleasant  empha- 
sizes quality. 

The  various  schools  which  have  been  reported  in 
the  four  upper  sections  of  the  diagram  are  all  regular 
in  the  sense  that  each  school  shows  steady  progress 
from  grade  to  grade  in  both  speed  and  quality. 
Without  attempting  to  comment  in  detail  on  the 
special  cases,  attention  is  called  to  the  series  of  re- 
sults presented  in  the  lower  part  of  the  diagram. 
These  exhibit  the  most  extraordinary  fluctuations 
in  emphasis.  They  tell  their  own  story  with  perfect 
clearness.  Also  they  illustrate  the  necessity  of  an 
exact  study  of  standards. 


Comparison  of  Cleveland  with  Other  Cities 
The  question  will  doubtless  arise  in  the  minds  of 
Cleveland  teachers,  "How  do  the  schools  here  com- 
pare with  those  in  other  cities?"  A  comparison  with 
available  standards  from  12  other  cities  shows  that 
in  both  speed  and  quaUty  the  Cleveland  schools  are 
superior  to  those  elsewhere  in  the  fifth  and  sixth 
grades  and  inferior  in  the  seventh  and  eighth. 


Recommendations 
The  best  form  of  supervision  is  that  which  can  be 
secured  through  repetition  of  the  tests.   Any  school 
which  finds  its  sixth  grade  far  ahead  in  speed  but 
far  behind  in  quality  has  its  problem  for  that  grade 

157 


more  clearly  defined  than  it  can  be  by  any  purely 
personal  judgment  of  a  supervisor. 


TESTS  OF  SPELLING 
Tests  of  spelling  are  definite  in  their  results  because 
the  words  can  be  given  and  can  be  scored  with  few 
of  the  complications  which  are  involved  in  tests  in 
the  other  subjects.  Furthermore,  it  is  easy  to  com- 
pare Cleveland  with  other  cities  because  a  recent 
study  has  made  available  a  very  large  body  of  results 
from  84  cities.  Two  complete  spelling  tests  were  ac- 
cordingly made  in  all  the  regular  elementary  schools 
in  all  grades  from  the  second  to  the  eighth. 

Words  for  the  Tests 
The  words  for  these  tests  were  selected  from  the 
1,000  words  most  commonly  used  in  written  and 
printed  matter,  puch  as  letters,  newspapers,  and 
books.  These  1,000  words  have  been  divided  through 
elaborate  studies  into  groups  of  approximately  equal 
difliculty.  Accepting  the  results  of  the  earlier  studies, 
two  sets  of  20  words  were  made  up  for  each  grade. 

Number  of  Returns 
In  the  first  test  1,068,080  spellings  were  secured  from 
53,404  pupils;  in  the  second,  1,033,360  spellings  from 
51,668  pupils. 

158 


Variation  in  Schools  and  Grades 
As  in  the  case  of  handwriting,  it  appears  from  the 
spelling  tests  that  there  is  great  difference  in  attain- 
ment in  the  various  schools.  These  differences  are 
impressive  when  it  is  borne  in  mind,  as  pointed  out 
in  the  last  chapter,  that  these  are  not  differences  be- 
tween individual  pupils,  but  between  whole  grades. 
For  example,  all  the  second  grades  of  one  school 
spell  correctly  only  44  per  cent  of  the  words  while 
those  of  another  school  succeed  in  spelling  98  per 
cent  of  them.  The  fourth  grades  of  one  building 
spell  correctly  52  per  cent  of  the  words,  while  those  of 
another  building  spell  87  per  cent  of  them. 

It  was  found  that  in  some  schools  the  lower  grades 
made  good  records  and  the  upper  ones  poor  records 
while  in  others  it  was  the  upper  grades  that  did  well 
and  the  lower  grades  that  did  poorly.  In  still  others 
the  intermediate  grades  excelled.  In  other  cases  all 
of  the  grades  made  good  showings  or  all  of  them  made 
poor  ones. 

Cleveland  has  an  Average  Record 
A  comparison  with  other  cities  shows  that  Cleveland 
is  exactly  at  the  average.  When  the  large  foreign 
population  is  considered,  this  is  a  good  showing. 
When,  on  the  other  hand,  the  possibiUties  of  improve- 
ment are  considered  as  clearly  set  forth  in  the  com- 
parative tables,  it  becomes  evident  that  Cleveland 
ought  to  aim  at  a  position  above  the  average.  The 
schools  which  are  low  ought  to  be  raised  to  the  stan- 
dard of  those  which  are  above  the  average. 
159 


Recommendations 
Supervision  should  aim  here,  as  in  handwriting,  to 
secure  greater  uniformity  throughout  the  city.  If 
schools  continue  under  supervision  to  show  wide 
differences,  a  study  should  be  made  of  the  methods 
employed  in  the  more  successful  schools.  The  words 
used  in  the  spelling  exercises  should  be  selected  with 
a  view  to  training  pupils  in  the  mastery  of  common 
words  which  they  will  use  frequently.  To  this  end 
the  vocabulary  of  ordinary  school  life  should  be 
closely  watched  and  recorded. 


STUDIES  OF  ARITHMETIC 
The  tests  in  arithmetic  were  made  before  the  new 
course  of  study  went  into  operation.  This  report  has 
the  great  advantage  of  being  a  definite  record  of  con- 
ditions at  the  time  when  the  course  was  changed. 
From  the  third  grade  to  the  eighth  there  is  here  a 
very  comprehensive  record  of  the  knowledge  which 
the  pupils  now  possess  in  the  fundamentals  of  arith- 
metic. It  will  be  quite  possible  a  few  months  hence 
to  determine  with  precision  the  success  of  the  change 
so  far  as  fundamental  operations  are  concerned. 


Spiral  Character  op  the  Test 

The  test  which  was  given  to  all  the  A  grades  in  the 

system  included  a  number  of  different  forms  of  each 

of  the  fundamental  operations.    Thus,  in  addition 

160 


the  first  and  simplest  exercise  of  the  test  consisted 
in  adding  pairs  of  figures.  Later  in  the  series,  addi- 
tion appeared  again,  but  in  a  more  elaborate  form. 
It  was  here  required  that  a  short  column  of  figures 
be  added.  The  third  case  of  addition  consisted  in  the 
adding  of  fractions  of  like  denominators.  The  fourth 
case  consisted  in  the  addition  of  a  longer  column  of 
figures.  This  differs  from  short-column  addition  in 
the  fact  that  a  greater  effort  of  attention  is  required 
in  order  to  complete  the  addition.  Addition  of  four- 
place  figures,  which  requires  carrying  forward  from 
one  column  to  the  next,  and  addition  of  fractions  of 
unlike  denominators,  constituted  the  final  and  most 
elaborate  stages  of  the  addition  process.  The  purpose 
of  introducing  these  various  types  of  addition  was  to 
test  the  abiUty  of  the  different  grades  to  perform 
increasingly  elaborate  operations.  Similar  spiral  tests 
in  subtraction,  multiplication,  and  division  were 
interwoven  with  the  exercises  in  addition. 


Test  of  Speed 
In  the  second  place,  the  test  was  so  presented  that 
the  rate  of  the  work  in  the  different  grades  could  be 
determined.  For  example,  taking  the  simplest  of 
the  processes  of  addition,  the  opportunity  was  pro- 
vided on  the  test  sheet  for  the  pupil  to  perform  a  large 
number  of  operations.  The  time  during  which  he  was 
allowed  to  work  on  this  part  of  the  test  was  limited 
to  30  seconds.  The  result  was  that  no  child  ex- 
hausted the  possibilities  that  were  offered  on  the 
"  161 


test  sheet.  The  test  shows,  therefore,  both  the  com- 
plexity of  the  processes  which  a  given  grade  can 
master  and  also  the  number  of  examples  of  a  given 
type  that  can  be  performed  in  the  specified  time. 

A  detailed  description  of  the  test  can  be  coupled 
with  a  presentation  of  the  results  for  the  city  as  a 
whole.  We  turn,  therefore,  directly  to  the  general 
results.  These  are  presented  in  Diagram  16.  Each 
horizontal  line  in  the  diagram  is  proportionate  in 
length  to  the  median  number  of  examples  solved  in 
a  given  grade. 

In  the  short  sections  which  follow  the  tests  are 
briefly  described  and  some  indication  given  of  the 
interpretation  of  the  results.  It  is,  however,  im- 
possible to  give  in  this  summary  any  full  interpreta- 
tion and  the  student  who  wishes  to  understand  fully 
the  outcome  of  the  tests  and  the  conclusions  derived 
must  study  the  fuller  explanation  presented  in  Pro- 
fessor Judd's  volume. 


Test  A 
Test  A  dealt  with  the  addition  of  simple  one-place 
numbers.  These  numbers  were  printed  one  above  the 
other  in  pairs  and  the  pupil  was  required  to  write  the 
results  as  fast  as  possible  for  a  period  of  30  seconds. 
The  results  show  that  ability  to  add  simple  figures 
had  reached  a  relatively  high  stage  in  the  third  grade. 
From  this  point  on  the  improvement  exhibited  grows 
relatively  less  as  we  approach  the  end  of  the  ele- 
mentary course. 

162 


13.1 

■  >f.l 
15.5 

Diagram  16. — Median  records  for  all  schools  in  15  arithmetic 
tests.     Figures  at  the  left  end  of  each  line  indicate  grades; 
figures  at  the  right  end  show  the  median  score  of  the  grade 
163 


Test  B 
Test  B  required  the  pupils  to  subtract  one-place 
numbers  from  one-place  and  two-place  numbers. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  to  what  extent  subtraction  is 
a  more  difficult  process  than  addition  as  shown  by  the 
lower  median  scores  in  subtraction.  Furthermore, 
it  should  be  noted  that  in  the  upper  grades  the  record 
in  subtraction  begins  to  overtake  the  record  in  ad- 
dition. 

Test  C 
Test  C  deals  with  multiplication.  One-place  num- 
bers are  multiplied  by  one-place  numbers.  The 
resemblance  between  the  general  rates  of  improve- 
ment in  multiplication  and  addition  will  be  obvious 
from  an  inspection  of  the  diagrams. 


Test  D 
Test  D  deals  with  simple  division  of  one-place  and 
two-place  numbers  by  one-place  numbers.    Divi- 
sion evidently  is  more  difficult  throughout  the  schools 
than  addition  and  subtraction. 


Test  E 
Test  E  deals  with  the  addition  of  short  single  columns 
of  figures.  There  were  in  the  columns  of  this  section 
of  the  test  five  figures  to  be  added.  Since  there  are 
five  numbers  in  each  column  to  be  added,  we  may 
multiply  each  of  the  records  in  Test  E  by  four  and 
164 


compare  the  results  with  those  for  Test  A.  All  the 
grades  will  then  show  a  slightly  higher  record  in 
Test  E  than  in  Test  A. 


Test  F 
Test  F  consists  of  a  more  elaborate  process  of  sub- 
traction. We  note  here  again  the  fact  that  the  eighth 
grade  shows  a  sharp  increase  over  the  seventh  grade 
in  its  ability  to  perform  subtraction  operations. 
A  coincidence  such  as  we  find  in  comparing  the  dia- 
gram for  Test  B  with  the  diagram  for  Test  F,  and  the 
marked  difference  in  form  between  these  diagrams 
and  all  the  others  examined  up  to  this  point,  give  us 
confidence  that  an  analysis  based  on  results  of  a  city- 
wide  test  will  bring  out  essential  facts  with  regard 
to  the  nature  of  arithmetical  operations.  It  does  not 
seem  possible  that  a  characteristic  difference  which 
recurs  in  two  tests  dealing  with  the  same  kind  of 
operation  can  be  a  mere  accident. 

Test  G 
Test  G  requires  the  multiplication  of  four-place 
numbers  by  one-place  numbers.    The  conspicuous 
fact  here  is  the  slight  progress  recorded  in  the  sixth 
and  seventh  grades. 

Test  H 
Test  H  deals  with  the  addition  and  subtraction  of 
simple  fractions  which  are  of  like  denomination. 
165 


Test  I 
Test  I  involved  the  dividing  of  five-place  numbers  by 
one-place  numbers.  It  is  interesting,  in  view  of  the 
fact  which  came  out  in  comparing  simple  division 
with  simple  multiplication,  to  note  that  the  record 
for  this  more  elaborate  type  of  division  never  passes 
the  record  for  the  corresponding  type  of  multiplica- 
tion. 

Test  J 
Test  J  was  a  test  in  the  addition  of  long  columns  of 
figm-es.  The  form  of  the  diagram  showing  the  prog- 
ress is  of  interest,  revealing,  as  it  does,  marked 
progress  in  the  highest  grades.  The  intellectual  ma- 
turity which  comes  in  the  upper  grades  evidently 
redounds  more  to  the  advantage  of  long-colunm 
addition  than  it  does  to  the  advantage  of  short- 
column  addition,  as  we  see  if  we  compare  the  record 
of  Test  J  with  the  record  of  Test  E. 

Test  K 
Test  K  is  a  test  in  long  division.  Three-place  and 
four-place  numbers  were  divided  by  two-place  num- 
bers. One  hundred  and  twenty  seconds  were  al- 
lowed for  this  work.  The  high  record  made  in  this 
kind  of  division  makes  it  appear  that  when  it  is 
ultimately  mastered  it  is  the  simplest  of  all  the  highly 
complex  operations.  A  partial  explanation  of  this 
latter  fact  is  doubtless  to  be  found  in  the  relief  which 
comes  in  long  division  from  the  breaking  up  of  the 
operation  into  a  succession  of  short  steps. 

166 


Tests  L,  M,  N,  and  0 
Tests  L  to  0  may  be  commented  on  together.  All 
of  them  deal  with  the  more  complex  forms  of  the 
fundamental  processes.  In  Test  L  four-place  num- 
bers are  to  be  multiplied  by  two-place  numbers.  In 
Test  M  five  four-place  numbers  are  to  be  added. 
Test  0  is  a  test  in  the  appUcation  of  the  four  funda- 
mental operations  to  fractions  where  the  fractions 
to  be  subtracted  or  added  must  first  be  reduced  to  a 
common  denominator. 


Complexity  of  Educational  Processes 
A  spiral  test  such  as  that  which  has  been  described 
in  the  foregoing  paragraphs  exhibits,  more  clearly 
than  any  formal  argument  possibly  could,  something 
of  the  complexity  of  arithmetical  processes.  Each 
grade  is  confronted  even  in  the  fundamental  opera- 
tions with  complexities  that  can  be  overcome  only 
gradually.  The  teacher  who  assumes  that  addition 
is  always  the  same  process,  whether  it  is  encountered 
in  the  simple  tables  or  in  the  addition  of  long  columns 
of  figures,  has  no  adequate  comprehension  of  the 
difficulties  which  children  are  really  encountering 
as  they  go  through  the  grades. 

The  analyses  suggested  by  the  arithmetic  test  also 
indicate  the  only  intelUgent  method  of  organizing 
the  course  of  study  in  this  subject.  If  arithmetic  is 
complex,  the  child  must  not  be  left  to  make  his  own 
way  through  this  complex  maze.  He  must  be  guided 
step  by  step  by  a  teacher  who  understands  the  com- 
167 


plexities  of  the  subject.  While  our  analyses  explain 
failures  in  arithmetic,  they  do  not  justify  these 
failures.  Rather  they  point  out  the  way  of  avoiding 
them. 

It  is  urged  that  the  results  of  the  new  course  be 
closely  studied  and  that  those  modifications  which 
the  results  show  to  be  needed  be  introduced  without 
delay.  The  course  of  study  should  be  subject  to  f re- 
quest revisions  in  minor  details.  Such  constant  re- 
vision should  depend  on  the  precise  knowledge  of 
results  which  can  come  only  from  systematic  tests. 


STUDIES  OF  READING 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  discuss  at  length  the  im- 
portance of  reading.  It  is  unquestionably  the  most 
important  subject  taught  in  the  public  elementary 
school.  It  occupies  the  first  place  in  the  program, 
consuming  more  time  than  any  other  subject.  It 
furnishes  the  pupils  with  the  instrument  which  they 
must  use  throughout  the  school  course. 

Conduct  of  Reading  Tests 
With  the  aid  of  the  members  of  the  senior  class  of 
the  Cleveland  Normal  School  careful  tests  of  oral  and 
silent  reading  were  given  to  the  children  of  the  dif- 
ferent grades  in  44  schools.  In  preparation  for  this 
task  the  normal  school  students  were  trained  by 
demonstrations,  discussions,  and  trial.  They  went 
to  various  schools  and  were  allowed  to  try  the  tests 

168 


in  suitable  rooms  where  they  could  work  with  indi- 
vidual children  without  distraction.  The  passages 
used  were  the  products  of  extended  studies  previ- 
ously made  in  other  cities. 


Tests  of  Oral  Reading 
The  exact  tests  were  divided  into  tests  in  oral  reading 
and  tests  in  silent  reading.   In  oral  reading  the  rate 
was  considered  and  also  the  following  types  of  error: 

a.  Gross  mispronunciations,  which  include  such 
errors  in  pronunciation  as  indicate  clearly  that  the 
word  is  too  difficult  for  the  pupil. 

b.  Minor  mispronunciations  which  involve  the 
mispronunciation  of  a  portion  of  a  word,  wrong  ac- 
cent, wrong  syllabication,  omission  of  a  syllable, 
etc. 

c.  Omission  of  words. 

d.  Insertion  of  words. 

e.  Repetition  of  words  or  groups  of  words. 

f.  Substitution  of  one  word  or  group  of  words  for 
another. 

A  composite  score  based  on  all  these  items  was 
made  up,  thus  reducing  the  record  of  each  child  and 
each  grade  to  a  series  of  convenient  numerical  ex- 
pressions. 

Variations  in  Schools 

It  was  found  that  in  reading  as  in  other  subjects  the 

results  from  different  schools  varied  greatly.    As 

compared  with  the  standard  derived  from  the  records 

169 


of  all  the  schools  tested  it  was  found  that  there  were 
some  which  excelled  in  lower  grades;  others  which 
were  better  than  average  in  the  upper  grades;  still 
others  which  did  notably  good  work  in  the  lower 


Average  all  girls  

Average  all  pupils  — 
Average  all  boys   


Diagram  17. — Average  Bcores  in  oral  reading  for  girls  and 
boys  in  each  of  the  eight  grades 
170 


grades  and  poor  work  in  the  upper  grades,  and  so  on 
through  all  the  possible  combinations. 

Analysis  to  Show  Influence  of  Sex,  Books,  and 

Nationality 
Analysis  of  the  results  brings  out  several  important 
facts.   First,  in  all  grades  girls  do  better  than  boys 
in  oral  reading.  The  facts  are  exhibited  in  Diagram 
17. 

Systems  of  readers  do  not  exhibit  any  striking 
differences  when  all  results  are  taken  into  account. 
The  two  systems  which  have  been  in  use  for  the  last 
two  years  and  a  half,  namely.  Ward  and  Aldine  sys- 
tems, are  compared  in  Diagram  18. 

The  influence  of  nationality  on  achievement  in  oral 
reading  is  shown  in  a  general  way  by  Diagram  19. 
The  results  shown  can  be  accepted  only  in  a  very 
general  way  for  two  reasons.  The  first  is  that  the 
number  of  schools  involved  in  some  cases  is  limited. 
The  second  is  that  it  is  not  certain  in  all  cases  that 
all  the  pupils  tested  from  a  school  in  which  a  given 
nationahty  dominated  were  of  that  type.  The  results 
are,  however,  accurate  enough  to  serve  in  suggesting 
explanations  of  some  of  the  earlier  results  reported 
for  individual  schools. 

Achievement  in  Cleveland  as  Compared  with 

Other  Cities 

In  Diagram  20  the  average  achievement  of  the  grades 

in  Cleveland  is  compared  with  the  scores  of  23  typi- 

171 


cal  Illinois  schools.  Comparative  data  are  at  hand 
only  for  the  grades  from  the  second  through  the 
seventh.    The  figure  shows  that  the  second,  third, 


Wflurd  System 
Aldine  System 


Diaf^am  18. — Average  scores  in  oral  reading  in  each  grade  of 
pupils  using  the  Ward  system  and  of  those  using  the  Aldine 
■ysteiu 

172 


American  schools  

Cleveland  average  

Italiaja  schools 


r* 

1 

• 

- 

^^"^ 

" 

- 

:::: 

""^^ 

^^^^ 

. 

»l 

t 

^^  " 

- 

lA 

// 

// 

i/  ' 

i 

r      « 

t/ 

. 

! 

4 

6 
7 

2 

J 

«. 

Hel}i 

•ew  8 

chool 

3 

—  —  — . 

1        Cleveland  average  —^ 

Diagram  19. — Average  scores  in  oral  reading  in  each  grade  in 
Cleveland  schools  in  general  and  in  eight  American  schools, 
two  Italian  schools,  and  three  Hebrew  schools 
173 


and  fourth  grades  in  Cleveland  are  making  dis- 
tinctly more  rapid  progress  than  the  same  grades  in 


70 1 


10  J 


Cleveland  average  — 
Illinois  schoole  


Diagram  20. — Average  Bcores  in  oral  reading  in  six  grades  in 
the  Cleveland  schools  and  in  23  Illinois  schools 


Illinois,  while  the  upper  grades  in  each  case  repre- 
sent approximately  the  same  level  of  achievement. 
174 


Third  grade  pupils  in  Illinois  are  more  than  one-half 
year  behind  third  grade  pupils  in  Cleveland.  When 
it  is  considered  that  the  school  population  of  Cleve- 
land is  largely  foreign,  while  that  of  Illinois  is  largely 
American,  the  fact  that  Cleveland  has  developed  a 
high  degree  of  efficiency  in  teaching  the  mechanics  of 
reading  in  the  lower  grades  becomes  doubly  impressive. 
Gratifying  as  these  results  seem,  there  is  a  danger 
which  must  be  pointed  out.  It  is  sometimes  found 
that  a  pupil  who  has  reached  the  third  grade  in  a 
school  which  emphasizes  oral  reading  has  acquired 
an  ability  to  pronounce  words  which  is  much  in 
excess  of  his  ability  to  secure  meaning  from  what  he 
reads.  Tests  in  comprehension  show  that  Cleve- 
land pupils  are  behind  pupils  of  other  cities  in  ability 
to  interpret  what  they  read. 

Tests  in  Silent  Reading 
At  the  same  time  that  the  pupils  were  tested  in  oral 
reading,  they  were  also  tested  in  silent  reading. 
The  silent  test  was  omitted  in  the  case  of  the  pupils 
of  the  first  grade.  All  others  were  given  a  new  set 
of  passages  and  the  rate  of  reading  and  ability  to 
understand  what  was  read  were  carefully  scored. 
Since  three  passages  were  used  in  order  to  suit  the 
subject  matter  to  the  maturity  of  the  different  grades, 
a  readjustment  is  necessary  in  the  figures.  The 
points  of  this  readjustment  are  between  the  third 
and  fourth  grades  and  between  the  sixth  and  seventh 
grades.  In  Diagrams  21  and  22  dotted  lines  are 
drawn  dividing  the  curves  of  progress  at  these  points. 

175 


w 


^00 


S.00 


too 


uoo 


\ 

% 

• 

Z9l\ 

1 
•  • 

^^,— 

—  "T^^ 

^^^ 

^^^ 

y'y 

/^  1 

til! 

< 

/ 

1 
1 

8 


Diagram  21. — ^Average  scores  in  the  rate  of  silent  reading  of 
1,831  Cleveland  pupils  and  of  2,654  pupils  in  13  other  cities. 
Data  are  for  grades  from  second  through  eighth.  Dotted 
line  shows  Cleveland  scores  and  solid  line  those  of  other  cities 


> 

j 

^ 

n^'  ^ 

y 

90 

-^ 

fto-i,. 

,,'-' 

."' 

1 

to 

y 

— 1 

1 

1 

1 

2         3^56  76 

Diagram  22. — Average  scores  in  the  quality  of  silent  reading 
of  1,831  Cleveland  pupils  and  of  2,654  pupils  in  13  other  cities. 
Data  are  for  grades  from  second  through  eighth.  Dotted 
line  shows  Cleveland  scores  and  solid  Une  those  of  other  cities 

176 


Comparison  of  Cleveland  Pupils  with  Others 
The  first  matter  which  may  be  taken  up  in  reporting 
on  the  tests  of  silent  reading  is  that  which  was  dis- 
cussed in  the  last  paragraphs  dealing  with  oral  read- 
ing, namely,  the  meaning  of  the  superiority  of  the 
Cleveland  pupils  when  contrasted  with  the  pupils  in 
other  cities. 

The  comparison  in  silent  reading  is  exhibited  in 
Diagrams  21  and  22.  Diagram  21  shows,  as  did 
the  score  in  oral  reading  reported  in  Diagram  20,  a 
marked  superiority  in  the  rate  of  reading  on  the  part 
of  Cleveland  pupils  in  all  grades. 

In  quality,  on  the  other  hand,  the  results  are  not 
in  favor  of  the  Cleveland  pupils.  In  fact,  the  results 
here  are  decidedly  low  for  Cleveland  schools. 

These  comparative  facts  raise  a  most  important 
question.  Does  quality  of  reading  always  fall  when 
the  rate  rises? 


General  Relation  Between  Rate  and  Quality 

OF  Silent  Reading 
For  the  purposes  of  this  study  of  the  relation  be- 
tween rate  and  quality,  all  the  individual  records  of 
Cleveland  pupils  were  divided  into  classes.  First 
the  speed  records  were  arranged  in  order  from  the 
most  rapid  to  the  slowest.  The  most  rapid  of  these 
records  were  designated  by  the  single  term  "rapid." 
In  this  class  of  "rapid"  records  were  included  the 
most  rapid  25  per  cent  of  all  the  records.    In  like 

fashion  the  slowest  25  per  cent  of  all  the  records  were 
12  177 


set  aside  and  designated  as  "slow."  This  left  half 
the  records,  or  the  middle  50  per  cent,  which  were 
designated  as  of  "medium  speed."  In  like  manner 
the  25  per  cent  of  all  records  which  were  qualita- 
tively the  best  were  designated  "good";  the  25  per 


0 


Rapid  apesd  and 
good  quality 


Rapid  speed  and 
aediua  quality 


0 


Rapid  Bfeed  and 
poor  quality 


0 

MediuB  apeed 
and  good  quality 


26 


Medium  speed  and 
aediuM  quality 


UedluB  apead 
and  poor  quality 


© 


Slow  speed  and 
good  quality 


&lo«  speed  and 
■ediua  quality 


0 

Slow  speed  and 
poor  quality 


Diagram  23. — Per  cent  of  1,831  Cleveland  pupils  found  in 
each  of  nine  speed  and  quality  groups  in  silent  reading 

cent  which  were  qualitatively  worst  were  designated 
"poor,"  and  the  term  "medium"  was  applied  to  the 
middle  50  per  cent. 

It  becomes  a  very  simple  matter  to  assign  all 
records  in  each  grade  to  the  appropriate  class  and 
178 


determine  the  percentage  of  the  grade  which  falls 
into  this  class.  Diagram  23  gives  the  results,  the 
percentages  being  in  each  case  the  nearest  whole 
number  to  the  calculated  figures,  and  the  size  of  the 
circle  being  proportionate  to  the  size  of  the  class  in- 
dicated. 

For  the  purpose  of  this  survey  the  general  fact  that 
high  rate  and  good  quality  are  commonly  related, 
and  that  low  rate  and  poor  quality  are  commonly 
related,  is  of  great  importance.  This  general  prin- 
ciple, which  stands  out  as  impressively  evident  in 
spite  of  exceptions,  leaves  us  with  the  complex  prob- 
lem of  explaining  how  Cleveland  pupils  who  are  rapid 
are  less  able  to  give  back  what  they  read  than  are 
the  pupils  in  other  schools  tested  with  the  same  pas- 
sages. 

Explanation  of  the  Cleveland  Record 
The  problem  which  is  here  encountered  is  solved  by  a 
consideration  of  the  relative  emphasis  on  speed  and 
quality  in  the  different  grades.  Rate  and  quality 
may  be  represented  in  a  single  diagram.  Thus  in 
Diagram  24  the  rate  of  reading  is  represented  by 
horizontal  distances  and  quality  by  vertical  dis- 
tances. The  facts  in  regard  to  Cleveland  and  the 
other  cities  are  presented  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
diagram.  Here  we  see  that  the  rate  of  the  second 
grade  in  Cleveland  is  nearly  two  words  per  second, 
while  the  speed  of  the  corresponding  grade  in  other 
cities  is  about  one  and  a  half  per  second.  The 
quality  of  Cleveland's  second  grades,  on  the  other 
179 


60 


SO 


AC 


30 


20 


OTHE 

R  cn 

^' 

8 

^CLE 

VELA 

/ 

,^ 

/ 

y" 

y 

3 

5/ 

i 

1 

/ 

y 

t/ 

/ 

4 

LO 


2Si 


3.0 


40 


SO 


1.0  2.0  3.0  4.0  5.0 

Diagram  24. — Average  scores  in  speed  and  quality  of  silent 
reading  in  each  grade  in  Cleveland  and  in  13  other  cities  and 
in  three  selected  Cleveland  schools 

180 


hand,  is  25,  while  that  of  the  grades  in  other  cities  is 
over  30. 

Following  the  progress  of  the  Cleveland  curve,  it 
is  noticed  that  there  is  a  rapid  gain  in  speed  up  to  the 
fourth  grade,  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  curve  turns 
sharply  toward  the  right  but  is  irregular  in  the  ver- 
tical. Quality  is  thus  shown  to  be  irregular.  There 
is  a  relapse  to  a  lower  level  in  passing  from  the  third 
to  the  fourth  grade.  Indeed,  even  after  improve- 
ment in  quality  begins  in  the  fifth  and  sixth  grades, 
it  is  relatively  slow  and  irregular. 

The  curve  for  the  other  cities  has  a  wholly  differ- 
ent character.  During  the  early  years  rate  improves 
relatively  more  than  does  quality,  but  there  is  steady 
progress  in  both.  In  the  middle  of  the  elementary 
course  there  is  a  definite  change  in  relation,  the  upper 
grades  showing  greater  improvement  in  quality. 
This  would  seem  to  mean  that  the  mechanical  phases 
of  reading  have  to  be  mastered  first  and  their  mas- 
tery is  shown  by  the  attainment  of  satisfactory 
speed;  thereafter  the  greater  emphasis  should  fall 
on  quality. 

The  solution  of  our  problem  regarding  the  high 
speed  and  deficient  quality  of  Cleveland  is  now  clear. 
There  is  not  sufficient  attention  to  interpretation  in 
the  grades  up  to  the  fourth.  There  is,  indeed,  a  high 
degree  of  success  in  perfecting  the  mechanical  opera- 
tions, but  the  ultimate  achievement  of  the  schools  is 
below  what  it  should  be  in  quality  because  the  qual- 
ity is  not  adequately  stressed  in  the  lower  grades. 


181 


Records  of  Various  Schools 
The  lower  part  of  Diagram  24  shows  the  results 
obtained  in  three  individual  schools.  These  records 
of  individual  schools  are  made  up  on  the  basis  of  the 
results  of  only  a  few  representatives  of  each  grade 
and  might  be  modified  if  the  whole  school  were 
tested.  The  diagrams  are,  however,  suggestive  of  a 
kind  of  study  which  would  be  productive  in  every 
school. 

*************** 

KINDERGARTENS  AND  PRIMARY  GRADES 
In  order  to  get  information  about  the  kindergartens 
and  the  first  grades  and  especially  the  cooperation 
existing  between  the  two,  the  survey  secured  written 
discussions  of  conditions  and  problems  from  all  the 
teachers  of  these  classes.  In  the  full  report  these 
comments  are  summarized  and  discussed.  It  is 
pointed  out 

(1)  That  the  kindergartners  are  unsupervised  and 
dominated  by  a  training  school  which  is  outside  the 
school  system; 

(2)  That  the  equipment  of  the  kindergartens  is 
superior  to  that  of  the  primary  grades; 

(3)  That  the  effects  of  kindergarten  training  are 
by  no  means  clearly  defined  and  that  they  are  often 
regarded  by  primary  teachers  as  of  doubtful  value; 

(4)  That  the  teachers  are  not  in  close  touch  with 
one  another  and  not,  in  general,  in  sympathy  with 
the  mode  of  sending  children  from  the  kindergarten 
to  the  first  grade. 

182 


Recommendations 
It  is  recommended  that  the  training  of  kindergarten 
teachers  be  more  intimately  related  to  the  work  of 
the  City  Training  School  for  Teachers.  It  would 
be  well  if  the  training  of  kindergartners  could  be 
made  a  part  of  the  work  of  that  institution. 

It  is  recommended  that  the  first  grade  and  the 
kindergarten  be  organized  in  such  a  way  that  there 
shall  be  a  more  equitable  distribution  of  teaching 
staff  and  material  equipment. 

It  is  recommended  that  promotion  from  the  kin- 
dergarten to  the  first  grade  be  based  on  maturity  of 
pupils  and  not  merely  on  age. 

It  is  recommended  that  the  work  of  the  kinder- 
garten and  of  the  first  grade  be  reorganized  so  that 
each  shall  have  much  natural  play  and  each  shall 
have  systematic  training  in  the  fundamental  social 
arts. 

Since  these  changes  require  vigorous,  unified  cen- 
tral supervision,  it  is  recommended  that  a  single 
supervisor  be  put  in  charge  of  the  kindergartens  and 
primary  grades. 

RELATION  BETWEEN  ELEMENTARY 
SCHOOLS  AND  HIGH  SCHOOLS 
The  first  step  in  such  a  study  is  to  determine  in 
terms  of  the  elementary  records  what  kinds  of 
pupils  go  to  high  school.  The  expectation  of  suc- 
cess in  high  school  work  is,  of  course,  very  different 
in  the  case  of  a  child  who  has  done  excellent  work  in 
183 


the  lower  school  from  the  expectation  of  success  in 
the  case  of  a  child  who  has  made  a  low  elementary 
record.  The  elementary  records  of  all  pupils  en- 
tering the  high  school  in  1914  were  accordingly 
collected.  This  was  done  by  securing  individual 
record  cards  for  each  pupil.  Full  returns  were 
secured  from  84  elementary  schools.  Since  it  is 
difficult  to  compare  the  grading  systems  in  use  in 
different  schools,  the  simple  device  was  adopted  of 
dividing  each  eighth  grade  into  three  subdivisions, 
each  made  numerically  equal  to  the  others.  The 
first  third  included  the  best  pupils,  the  second  third 
the  mediocre  pupils,  and  the  last  third  the  lowest 
pupils  in  the  eighth  grade.  When  the  returns  from 
all  the  schools  were  combined,  it  was  found  that 
many  more  pupils  from  the  highest  third  of  the  ele- 
mentary grades  go  on  to  high  school  than  from  the 
lowest.    The  comparison  is  given  in  Diagram  25. 


Differences  Between  Individual  Schools 
The  records  from  various  schools  were  next  taken  up, 
and  it  appeared  here,  as  in  all  the  studies  reported  in 
preceding  chapters,  that  there  is  the  greatest  differ- 
ence between  schools.  Some  send  only  their  best 
pupils  on  to  high  school;  others  send  their  poor, 
their  medium,  and  their  good  pupils  in  substantially 
equal  proportions;  still  others  send  forward  sur- 
prisingly large  proportions  of  their  poorest  pupils. 

In  the  full  report  the  results  of  this  comparison  are 
presented  in  complete  tabular  form  for  all  the  ele- 
184 


mentary  schools.  The  results  show  that  the  pupils 
from  some  schools  fall  far  short  of  maintaining  in  the 
high  schools  the  relative  standings  that  they  had  in 
the  elementary  ones.  On  this  basis  some  schools 
show  little  more  than  70  per  cent  of  efficiency.     At 


Middle 
third 


Diagram  25. — Per  cent  of  eighth  grade  pupils  entering  high 
school  from  the  low  third,  the  middle  third,  and  the  high  third 
of  their  classes 

the  other  extreme  there  are  schools  which  send  for- 
ward pupils  who  are  so  well  prepared  that  their  rela- 
tive standing  in  high  school  is  much  improved  over 
what  it  was  in  the  grades.  Some  of  these  schools 
show  a  per  cent  of  eflBciency  as  high  as  130. 

185 


HIGH  SCHOOLS 
It  is  a  much  more  complex  problem  to  determine  the 
efficiency  of  a  high  school  than  to  form  an  estimate 
regarding  the  character  of  the  work  done  in  an  ele- 
mentary school.  The  best  basis  on  which  to  at- 
tempt an  estimate  of  high  schools  is  the  routine 
record  of  ordinary  work.  The  examination  of  such  a 
record  jdelds  many  facts  which  go  far  toward  justi- 
fying final  judgments. 


TABLE  8.— PER    CENT    OF    PUPILS   ENTERING    EACH  HIGH 

SCHOOL  IN  1914  WHO  WERE  IN  THE  HIGHEST.  MIDDLE.  AND 

LOWEST  THIRDS  OF  THEIR  EIGHTH  GRADE  CLASSES  IN  THE 

ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS 


Per  cent 

Per  cent 

Per  cent 

High  sobool 

marked  1  by 

marked  2  by 

marked  3  by 

elementary 

elementary 

elementary 

school 

school 

school 

West 

61.6 

34.1 

14.4 

Lincoln 

50.9 

35.1 

14.0 

Glenville 

47.5 

30.9 

21.6 

East 

44.9 

34.1 

21.0 

Central 

44.6 

34.9 

20.5 

West  Commerce 

44.2 

39.5 

16.3 

South 

36.8 

42.1 

21.1 

CoUinwood 

34.8 

39.1 

26.1 

East  Commerce 

29.7 

43.7 

26.6 

West  Technical 

28.7 

37.3 

34.0 

East  Technical 

27.9 

39.2 

32.9 

Ranks  of  Entering  Students 
The  investigation  which  was  described  in  the  last 
section  jdelded  facts  showing  that  the  students  who 
enter  the  different  high  schools  are  of  different  types. 
It  will  be  recalled  that  the  elementary  school  records 
were  secured  for  all  pupils  entering  the  high  schools 

186 


in  1914.  These  were  distributed  so  as  to  show  the 
ranks  of  pupils  entering  each  of  the  high  schools. 
The  results  are  presented  in  Table  8.  In  this  table 
rank  1  means  that  the  student  is  in  the  highest  third 
of  the  elementary  class,  rank  2  that  he  is  in  the  middle 
third,  and  rank  3  that  he  is  in  the  lowest  third. 

Ages  of  Students  in  Various  Schools 
A  significant  body  of  facts  is  printed  from  year  to 
year  in  the  report  of  the  superintendent.  Table  V 
in  the  seventy-eighth  report  gives  the  ages  of  all 
students  in  high  school.  This  table  throws  Ught  on 
our  problem,  because  it  shows  how  many  students 
entering  each  type  of  high  school  have  been  either 
fast  or  slow  in  completing  their  elementary  educa- 
tion and  continuing  their  high  school  work. 

Two  facts  stand  out  clearly.  First,  the  academic 
schools  have  the  largest  number  of  students  who  have 
made  rapid  or  normal  progress,  while  the  technical 
schools  have  the  largest  number  of  students  who 
have  been  delayed.  The  commercial  schools  stand 
between  the  extremes.  Second,  the  girls  are  always 
younger  than  the  boys  in  all  the  schools. 

The  facts  here  reported  confirm  the  conclusion 
based  on  Table  8.  The  academic  schools  get  more 
of  the  pupils  who  have  made  rapid  progress. 

Withdrawals  and  Non-promotions 

A  further  set  of  facts  important  for  this  discussion 

may  be  extracted  from  Table  V  of  the  superinten- 

187 


dent's  report.  Withdrawals  and  non-promotions  in 
the  different  types  of  high  schools  are  significant, 
because  they  show  what  students  cannot  carry  on 
the  work  of  the  high  school  or  are  not  interested 
enough  to  do  this  work.  This  table  presents  clear 
evidence  that  the  students  of  the  commercial  and 
technical  high  schools  cannot  satisfy  the  require- 
ments of  these  schools  as  readily  as  the  students  who 
go  to  the  academic  schools  succeed  in  satisfying  the 
requirements  of  those  schools.  Students  fail  in  the 
technical  schools  in  very  large  numbers,  and  the  rate 
of  withdrawal  in  these  schools  is  somewhat  higher 
than  in  the  others. 


High  School  Grades  in  the  First  Year 
Some  further  light  is  thrown  on  the  practices  of  the 
different  high  schools  by  a  study  of  the  way  in  which 
they  grade  members  of  the  first-year  classes.  The 
results  of  this  comparison  indicate  the  greatest  di- 
versity among  the  different  schools.  In  some  schools 
a  grade  of  85  means  that  the  pupil  is  in  the  highest 
third  of  the  class  while  in  others  the  same  grade 
means  that  he  is  in  the  lowest  third.  The  impor- 
tance of  this  diversity  is  well  illustrated  by  the  fact 
that  students  who  receive  the  grade  of  85  or  more  are 
admitted  to  the  City  Normal  School  without  exami- 
nation. Under  this  rule  a  student  would  have  to  be 
well  up  in  the  highest  third  of  the  class  in  West 
Commercial  and  East  Technical  in  order  to  qualify. 
At  Central  the  student  could  qualify  from  the  foot 
188 


of  the  highest  third,  while  at  Lincoln  students  from 
the  foot  of  the  middle  third  would  be  accepted  under 
the  rule. 


Number  of  Repeaters,  Students  Dropped,  and 

Failures 
These  details  show  that  the  grading  systems  of  the 
various  schools  are  sufficiently  different  to  require 
further  investigation.  In  order  to  make  this  in- 
vestigation, reports  were  secured  from  the  Depart- 
ment of  Statistics  showing  for  each  high  school  the 
following  facts:  (a)  the  total  number  of  students 
registered  in  each  subject,  such  as  first-year  English, 
first-year  mathematics,  etc.;  (b)  the  number  of 
students  registered  in  each  subject  as  repeaters,  that 
is,  taking  the  course  a  second  time;  (c)  the  number 
of  students  who  dropped  the  course  for  any  cause 
whatsoever  during  ths  semester;  and  (d)  the  num- 
ber of  failures. 

These  comparisons  contribute  further  evidence 
that  there  is  widest  divergence  in  standards  among 
the  different  high  schools.  Some  schools  fail  an  in- 
significant percentage  of  pupils  while  others  fail  them 
in  surprisingly  large  numbers.  In  some  the  number 
of  repeaters  is  very  large  while  in  others  there  are 
almost  none.  These  differences  are  important.  It 
is  certainly  significant  for  the  city  school  system,  for 
example,  that  West  Commercial  fails  in  a  required 
class  37  per  cent  of  the  students  and  over  in  the 
corresponding  class  in  Lincoln  only  two  per  cent 
189 


failed.  It  is  hardly  conceivable  that  under  these 
conditions  both  schools  are  conducting  the  same  type 
of  work  and  serving  the  community  equally  well. 


Comparisons  Between  Successive  Years 
Similar  conclusions  are  inevitable  when  comparisons 
are  drawn  between  the  records  of  successive  years  of 
work  with  the  same  students  in  the  same  subject. 
In  some  schools  a  large  percentage  of  the  pupils  fail 
in  the  beginning  classes  and  a  small  percentage  in  the 
advanced  work;  in  other  schools  the  opposite  policy 
is  followed.  Whatever  explanations  and  excuses  are 
offered  for  these  conditions,  it  is  certainly  contrary  to 
good  public  policy  that  there  should  be  the  wastage 
represented  by  some  of  the  records. 


Recommendations 
Central  supervision  of  the  high  schools  should  be  re- 
inforced in  some  radical  way.  Some  plan  of  equaliz- 
ing and  raising  standards  of  instruction  should  be 
devised.  Conferences  between  departments  would 
be  a  first  step.  Inspection  of  departments  would  be 
a  second,  and  reorganization  of  departments  a  third 
step  which  could  be  taken  if  necessary. 

Commercial  courses  and  technical  courses  should 
be  made  available  in  the  academic  high  schools. 

Detailed  reports  on  the  new  English  course  should 
be  required  of  every  school.  These  reports  should 
set  forth  the  quality  of  students  registering,  the 

190 


standing  of  such  students,  especially  in  courses  where 
they  mix  with  other  students,  and  the  length  of  the 
school  attendance  of  such  students. 

It  is  recommended  that  the  project  of  building  a 
new  commercial  high  school  be  given  careful  and 
thorough  reconsideration. 


APPENDIX 
An  appendix  of  some  55  pages  is  added  to  the  report 
for  the  purpose  of  presenting  in  full  an  account  of  the 
scales  and  tests  used  in  the  measuring  of  work.  The 
different  letters  of  instruction  issued  to  the  teachers 
are  reprinted  and  the  word  lists,  arithmetic  tests, 
and  reading  scales  are  reproduced  in  full. 

Conclusions  and  Recommendations 
1.  The  studies  of  non-promotions  in  the  grades  show 
that  they  increase  rather  than  decrease  with  the 
progress  of  school  work.  There  is  an  astonishing 
increase  of  so-called  mental  incapacity  through  the 
intermediate  grades  showing  that  this  diagnosis  of 
the  difficulty  as  offered  by  the  school  officials  is  not 
right. 

2.  In  the  matter  of  non-promotion  different  schools 
have  widely  varying  records  and  some  show  an  im- 
pressive lack  of  accord  with  their  own  past  practices. 

3.  In  handwriting  some  schools  show  regular 
progress  in  both  speed  and  quality  while  others  are 
without  consistent  policies  of  development.  There 
is  wide  variation  between  different  schools. 

191 


4.  The  progress  of  children  in  spelling  in  successive 
grades  of  different  schools  presents  striking  con- 
trasts and  marked  deviations  from  the  average  for 
the  whole  system. 

5.  Tests  of  arithmetic  reveal  divergencies  between 
different  grades  and  different  schools  similar  to  those 
noted  in  the  study  of  penmanship  and  spelling 
though  in  less  degree. 

6.  In  reading  marked  variations  and  divergencies 
appear  between  different  schools  and  grades  as  they 
do  in  the  cases  of  the  other  subjects. 

7.  In  general  the  Cleveland  pupils  are  ahead  of 
those  of  other  cities  in  speed  of  reading,  but  behind 
them  in  the  abiUty  to  interpret  what  is  read. 

8.  A  study  of  the  relation  between  elementary 
schools  and  high  schools  brings  to  hght  many  strik- 
ing divergencies  tending  to  decrease  the  intimacy 
between  the  two  kinds  of  schools. 

9.  Studies  of  high  school  conditions  show  that  the 
work  of  these  schools  is  marked  by  wide  differences 
in  their  ability  to  hold  pupils,  in  marking  systems, 
in  policies  in  failing  pupils,  and  in  their  standards  of 
satisfactory  work  in  the  different  subjects. 

10.  Without  exception  the  different  tests  of  school 
work  indicate  that  there  exist  in  Cleveland  wide  diver- 
gencies between  grades  of  the  same  denomination, 
marked  differences  in  the  standards  and  practices 
of  different  schools,  and  fundamental  variations  in 
the  policies  of  different  principals  in  both  elemen- 
tary schools  and  in  high  schools.  This  shows  the 
necessity  for  a  new  type  of  scientific  supervision  and 

192 


administration  which  shall  constantly  bring  to  the 
consciousness  of  school  officers  and  the  community 
the  chief  problems  of  school  organization  through 
comparative  studies  and  tables  of  definite  fact.  A 
vigorous  policy  of  comparative  study  should  be 
adopted  as  a  regular  part  of  the  routine  administra- 
tion of  the  system. 


w  193 


CHAPTER  IX 

HEALTH  WORK  IN  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

(Leonard  P.  Ayres  and  May  Ayres) 

Cleveland  employs  16  physicians,  one  oculist,  and  27 
nurses  to  take  charge  of  the  health  of  her  school  chil- 
dren. The  city  spends  $36,000  a  year  on  salaries  and 
supplies  for  these  people.  There  are  86  school  dis- 
pensaries and  clinics.  Cleveland  is  making  this  heavy 
investment  because  she  finds  it  pays. 

The  Argument  for  Medical  Inspection 
Through  medical  inspection  the  educator  and  the 
physician  join  hands  to  insure  for  each  child  such 
conditions  of  health  and  vitality  as  will  best  enable 
him  to  take  full  advantage  of  the  free  education  of- 
fered by  the  state.  It  recognizes  the  intimate  rela- 
tionship between  the  physical  and  mental  conditions 
of  children.  It  realizes  that  education  is  dependent 
upon  health.  It  betters  health  conditions  among 
school  children,  safeguards  them  from  disease,  and 
renders  them  healthier,  happier,  and  more  vigorous. 

How  THE  Work  Started 

The  first  work  of  this  kind  in  Cleveland  started  in 

1900  when  tests  were  made  of  defective  vision.    In 

1906  the  Health  Department  provided  inspectors  for 

194 


contagious  diseases  in  the  schools.  In  the  same  year 
inspection  for  physical  defects  was  undertaken;  the 
first  dispensary  in  the  United  States  was  established 
at  the  Murray  Hill  School,  and  school  nurses  were 
appointed.  In  1909  the  Division  of  Health  Super- 
vision and  Inspection  became  part  of  the  regular 
school  system.  The  Committee  on  Sanitation  of  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  was  influential  in  forwarding 
the  whole  movement. 

The  Present  System 

As  it  is  at  present  organized,  the  Division  handles 
inspection  for  contagious  disease,  inspection  for 
physical  and  mental  defects,  follow-up  work  for  the 
remedying  of  defects,  health  instruction,  recommen- 
dation of  children  to  schools  for  the  physically  and 
mentally  handicapped,  school  lunches,  gardens,  and 
playgrounds. 

Either  the  nurse  or  physician  reports  at  each  school 
every  day  of  the  year.  Once  during  the  year  each 
child  is  given  a  careful  physical  examination,  and  fur- 
ther examinations  are  made  when  they  are  needed. 
All  serious  defects  are  reported  to  parents,  and  in 
cases  where  treatment  is  important,  parents  are 
urged  to  consult  with  the  school  doctor  concerning 
the  nature  of  the  difficulty  and  the  best  means  of 
curing  it.  To  supplement  these  interviews,  the  school 
nurse  spends  a  large  part  of  her  time  in  visiting 
homes,  talking  with  parents,  noting  conditions  under 
which  children  live,  and  making  suggestions  as  to 
home  care. 

195 


The  School  Nurse 
The  value  of  the  school  nurse  is  one  feature  of  the 
medical  inspection  of  schools  about  which  there  is  no 
division  of  opinion.  Her  services  have  abundantly 
demonstrated  their  utility,  and  her  employment  has 
quite  passed  the  experimental  stage.  The  introduc- 
tion of  the  trained  nurse  into  the  service  of  education 
has  been  rapid,  and  few  school  innovations  have  met 
with  such  widespread  support  and  enthusiastic  ap- 
proval. 

Cleveland's  Dispensaries 
Cleveland  has  86  dispensaries.  In  every  case  light- 
ing, ventilation,  and  equipment  are  good.  It  is  prob- 
ably true  that  these  dispensaries  are  of  better  grade 
than  those  of  any  other  large  city  in  the  United 
States. 

Dental  Clinics 
Dental  clinics  are  now  conducted  in  four  public 
schools  by  the  Cleveland  Auxiliary  of  the  National 
Mouth  Hygiene  Association.  This  work  has  now 
reached  a  point  where  it  should  be  taken  over  and 
administered  as  a  part  of  the  public  school  system. 
The  function  of  a  private  organization  is  to  experi- 
ment and  demonstrate.  It  cannot  eventuate  on  a 
large  scale,  and  it  should  not  if  it  could.  The  function 
of  a  public  organization  is  to  eventuate  on  a  large 
scale.  It  can  seldom  experiment,  and  it  lacks  free- 
dom and  flexibility  in  demonstration.  The  Mouth 
Hygiene  Association  has  experimented  and  demon- 
196 


strated  successfully.  Its  work  should  now  be  as- 
sumed, continued,  and  extended  by  the  Division  of 
Medical  Inspection. 

Eye  Clinics 

The  eye  clinic  conducted  by  the  Division  at  the 
Brownell  School  is  doing  excellent  work.  As  the  sys- 
tem grows,  this  cHnic  should  be  supplied  with  more 
workers.  There  are  no  other  clinics.  Mental  ex- 
aminations are  made  by  a  special  teacher  appointed 
for  that  purpose.  All  surgical  cases  are  referred  to 
family  physicians  or  local  hospitals  for  treatment. 

The  Medical  Inspection  Staff 
Medical  inspectors  are  mature  men,  graduates  of 
well-known  medical  schools,  with  a  fairly  wide  pri- 
vate practice.  The  school  nurses  are  all  registered 
nurses.  Medical  inspectors  receive  $100  a  month 
during  the  school  year.  They  are  required  to  give 
three  and  one-half  hours  a  day,  five  days  a  week,  to 
work  in  the  schools,  inclusive  of  traveling  time  be- 
tween buildings.  Nurses  are  paid  on  the  schedule  of 
the  Visiting  Nurses  Association  and  salaries  range 
from  $60  to  $80,  depending  upon  length  of  service. 
The  upper  limit  will  probably  be  raised  to  $85  in  the 
near  future.  Nurses  are  on  duty  from  8:30  to  4:30 
every  weekday  except  Saturday,  when  work  ends  at 
noon.  Nurses  are  regularly  employed  only  during 
the  school  year,  but  two  are  retained  longer  for  ser- 
vice in  summer  schools. 

197 


The  number  of  school  nurses  should  be  increased 
as  rapidly  as  possible  until  one  nurse  is  provided  on 
full  time  for  every  2,000  children  enrolled  in  school. 
This  would  mean  the  employment  of  11  additional 
nurses,  increasing  the  staff  from  27  to  38.  As  the 
population  increases,  more  nurses  should  be  added. 

OflSice  consultations  between  parents  and  physi- 
cians are  among  the  most  important  activities  of  the 
Division  and  should  be  systematically  encouraged 
To  this  end  arrangements  should  be  made  whereby 
definite  hours  for  parent  consultations  are  assigned 
to  each  school. 

The  Plan  of  Concentrating  Interests 
The  Division  of  Medical  Inspection  has  so  organized 
its  work  that  the  attention  of  the  staff  is  concentrated 
upon  a  different  set  of  problems  each  year.  Tliis 
method  is  unquestionably  effective  in  promoting 
growth  and  maintaining  the  interest  of  the  staff. 
Care  should  be  taken,  however,  to  provide  that  with- 
in each  four-year  period  special  emphasis  be  laid  upon 
the  discovery  and  cure  of  each  of  the  more  important 
defects.  Some  plan  should  be  adopted  by  the  staff 
whereby  effort  may  be  concentrated  on  discovering 
and  remedying  defects  at  those  ages  where  such  ex- 
penditure of  time  and  energy  will  secure  the  largest 
returns. 

Speech  Defects 

Speech  defects  are  very  common  among  children. 

At  first  they  yield  readily  to  treatment,  but  if  allowed 

198 


to  continue  through  the  adolescent  period  the  habit 
becomes  fixed  so  that  trying  to  cure  it  is  a  difficult 
and  often  fruitless  task.  Judging  from  the  experience 
of  other  cities,  about  800  boys  and  200  girls  in  the 
Cleveland  public  school  system  are  suffering  from 
some  form  of  speech  defect.  There  are  few  fields  in 
which  the  medical  inspection  department  has  such  an 
opportunity  for  effective  work  and  in  which  so  little 
has  been  done.  Effort  should  be  made  to  locate  these 
children,  and  form  them  into  groups  for  daily  train- 
ing, under  the  direction  of  a  teacher  specially  pre- 
pared to  handle  speech  cases. 


Vaccination 
There  are  probably  more  than  50,000  unvaccinated 
children  now  in  the  Cleveland  schools.  Immediate 
steps  should  be  taken  to  see  to  it  that  every  child 
now  in  school  is  vaccinated,  and  that  no  child  is  ad 
mitted  to  school  hereafter  without  similar  protection. 
Principals,  teachers,  and  parents  should  be  held  re- 
sponsible for  violation  of  the  vaccination  ordinance. 


Future  Development 
The  Division  of  Medical  Inspection  should  plan 
steadily  to  enlarge  its  field  of  activity  in  order  to  pro- 
vide in  constantly  increasing  measure  better  working 
conditions  in  the  schools  and  to  train  the  children 
into  habits  of  health  that  shall  be  life-long.  It  is 
probable  that  the  health  work  in  the  Cleveland  public 
199 


schools  is  unsurpassed  by  that  of  any  other  city  in 
the  country.  The  city  now  has  an  opportunity  to 
lead  the  way  into  vastly  important  forward  exten- 
sions looking  toward  the  provision  of  health  insur- 
ance for  future  generations. 


Health  and  Education  and  Business 
There  is  one  condition  in  the  Cleveland  school  sys- 
tem which  rises  like  a  mighty  barrier  against  the 
possibility  of  completely  fulfilling  any  ideal  program 
of  health  education.  This  is  the  fundamental  fact 
that  the  Cleveland  school  authorities  have  not  yet 
conceived  of  health  work  as  being  an  integral  part  of 
education. 

Under  the  present  organization,  the  official  in 
charge  of  health  work  is  responsible  to  the  director 
of  schools  in  part  of  his  activities  and  to  the  superin- 
tendent in  the  rest  of  them.  He  should  be  respon- 
sible to  the  city  superintendent  alone,  for  health  work 
in  the  pubUc  schools  is  education  and  not  business. 

Sooner  or  later  serious  difficulties  are  bound  to 
arise  from  an  administratively  unsound  arrangement 
in  which  a  school  official  in  charge  of  a  most  impor- 
tant division  of  work  is  responsible  to  two  entirely 
independent  chiefs.  The  opportunities  for  honest 
but  irreconcilable  conffict  of  views  are  so  numerous 
that  they  will  surely  arise  in  time.  One  chief  may 
favor  vaccination  and  the  other  be  opposed  to  it  on 
principle.  One  may  deem  it  the  duty  of  the  schools 
to  have  the  doctors  and  nurses  give  instruction  in  sex 
200 


hygiene  while  the  other  may  be  utterly  against  any- 
thing of  the  sort.  One  may  hold  that  the  only  useful 
physical  exercise  is  that  gained  through  games  and 
athletics,  while  the  other  may  favor  formal  gym- 
nastics. One  may  beheve  in  school  gardens,  and  the 
other  deem  them  a  waste  of  time  and  money.  One 
may  beheve  that  courses  in  infant  hygiene  should  be 
provided  for  the  girls  in  the  upper  grammar  grades, 
while  the  other  may  hold  that  such  instruction  should 
be  reserved  for  continuation  classes  for  young  women. 
All  these  are  matters  on  which  educational  au- 
thorities are  sharply  divided  in  opinion  and  there  are 
many  more  of  the  same  nature.  The  present  direc- 
tor of  schools,  the  present  superintendent  of  schools, 
and  the  present  chief  medical  inspector  have  so 
far  worked  successfully  under  the  present  arrange- 
ment of  divided  duties  and  responsibilities,  but  a 
reorganization  along  sounder  administrative  lines 
should  be  made  before,  instead  of  after,  serious 
trouble  arises.  Eventually,  if  not  now,  Cleveland 
must  realize  that  health  work  in  education  must  be 
placed  under  the  direction  of  the  city's  highest  edu- 
cational official  who  is  the  city  superintendent  of 
schools. 

Conclusions  and  Recommendations 
1.  Cleveland  has  a  comprehensive  and  efficient  sys- 
tem of  medical  inspection,  employing  16  school  phy- 
sicians, one  oculist,  and  27  nurses,  and  entailing  an 
annual  expenditure  of  some  $36,000. 

2.  The  work  includes  inspection  for  contagious 
201 


diseases,  inspection  for  physical  and  mental  defects, 
follow-up  work  for  the  remedying  of  defects,  health 
instruction,  examination  of  physically  and  mentally 
exceptional  children,  school  lunches,  school  gardens, 
and  playgrounds. 

3.  Cleveland  probably  has  more  well-equipped 
school  dispensaries  than  any  other  large  city  in  the 
country. 

4.  The  work  of  the  dental  clinics  has  been  con- 
ducted by  a  private  association,  but  has  reached  a 
point  where  it  should  be  taken  over  and  administered 
as  a  part  of  the  public  school  system. 

5.  The  number  of  school  nurses  should  be  increased 
until  there  is  one  full-time  nurse  for  every  2,000  chil- 
dren enrolled. 

6.  Work  should  be  undertaken  for  the  remedying 
of  speech  defects  among  the  children. 

7.  Immediate  steps  should  be  taken  to  bring  about 
the  vaccination  of  the  50,000  unvaccinated  children 
now  attending  school. 

8.  The  health  work  should  be  reorganized  so  as  to 
bring  it  under  the  direct  supervision  and  authority 
of  the  superintendent  of  schools.  At  present  it  is 
partly  under  the  superintendent  and  mostly  under 
the  director. 

9.  It  is  probable  that  the  health  work  in  the  Cleve- 
land public  schools  is  unsurpassed  by  that  of  any 
other  city  in  the  country.  The  city  now  has  an  op- 
portunity to  lead  the  way  into  vastly  important  for- 
ward extensions  looking  toward  the  provision  of 
health  insurance  for  future  generations. 

202 


CHAPTER  X 

SCHOOLS  AND  CLASSES  FOR  EXCEPTIONAL 
CHILDREN 

(David  Mitchell) 

Cleveland  has  been  a  pioneer  in  providing  advantages 
for  children  who  do  not  fit  into  the  regular  grades.  In 
more  than  one  instance  this  city  had  the  first  class  of 
a  type  in  the  country.  Table  9  shows  the  enrollment 
in  each  sort  of  school  and  class  in  the  spring  of  1915. 

SPECIAL  SCHOOLS  AND  CLASSES  IN  1915 


Number  of 

Number  of 

children 

teachers 

Boys 

273 

14 

Deaf 

107 

14 

Backward  classes 

330 

15 

Backward  School 

472 

17 

Steamer 

404 

18 

Defective 

240 

18 

Epileptic 

11 

1 

Crippled 

90 

7 

Elementary  Industrial 

232 

11 

Industrial  training  oentera 

134 

11 

Blind 

48 

0 

Open  air 

218 

8 

Total 

2,559 

140 

Why  We  Have  Special  Classes 

With  universal  compulsory  education  the  special 

class  became  a  necessity.   As  compulsory  attendance 

203 


laws  were  more  strictly  enforced,  children  of  all  types 
were  brought  into  school.  Not  only  the  dull  and  the 
bright,  but  also  the  weak  and  strong  were  forced  into 
a  scheme  of  things  which  had  not  been  planned  to 
include  all.  The  schools  were  arranged  for  the  so- 
called  average  child,  but  here  were  brought  together 
many  who  for  various  reasons  could  not  possibly  be 
included  in  a  group  of  normal  children.  Since  the 
state  has  decreed  that  every  child  shall  be  educated, 
it  has  laid  upon  itself  the  obligation  of  providing 
suitable  instruction  for  all  the  different  types  of  chil- 
dren found  in  a  community. 


Division  op  Exceptional  Children  in 
Two  Groups 
The  so-called  exceptional  children  may  be  divided 
into  two  groups.  On  the  one  hand  we  have  those  who 
in  many  ways  are  defective  and  different  from  the 
majority,  but  who  will  become  independent,  self- 
supporting  units  of  society.  These  children  are  so- 
cially competent.  On  the  other  hand,  we  have  those 
whose  defect  is  such  that  the  individual  must  always 
be  dependent  on  others  and  more  or  less  supported  by 
them.    These  children  are  socially  incompetent. 

Those  exceptional  children  of  normal  mentality 
who  are  suffering  from  physical  defect  belong  to  the 
socially  competent  group.  They  must  take  their 
places  in  a  world  of  normal  people.  These  children 
are  the  blind,  the  deaf,  the  crippled,  the  tuberculous, 
etc.  In  the  same  group  of  socially  competent  we 
204 


place  certain  of  those  who  for  some  reason  other  than 
physical  defect  do  not  fit  into  the  scheme  of  things. 
This  group  is  only  temporarily  debarred  from  the 
activities  which  the  normal  child  enjoys.  The  reason 
for  the  separation  may  be  found  in  envirormiental  con- 
ditions. A  child  who  does  not  come  to  this  country 
until  after  the  usual  time  for  commencing  school  does 
not  know  how  to  communicate  with  his  schoolmates 
or  with  his  teacher.    For  a  time  he  is  a  social  misfit. 

In  the  same  way  a  child  who  has  not  had  the  train- 
ing which  would  make  him  an  acceptable  member 
of  society  may  require  temporary  segregation.  This 
class  of  children  we  recognize  as  incorrigible  and 
delinquent.  In  all  these  cases  the  common  charac- 
teristic is  that  eventually  they  will  become  self- 
supporting  members  of  the  community.  For  this 
reason  we  designate  them  as  socially  competent. 

The  other  exceptional  children  are  the  socially  in- 
competent. These  are  the  ones  who,  no  matter  what 
the  opportunity  given  them,  are  incapable  of  self- 
support.  They  will  always  be  more  or  less  dependent 
on  others  for  their  welfare.  They  lack  ability  to 
control  their  own  affairs  with  "an  ordinary  degree  of 
prudence."  This  group  contains  the  insane,  the 
epileptic,  and  the  feeble-minded,  those  known  as 
morons,  imbeciles,  idio-imbeciles,  and  idiots. 

The  criterion  by  which  we  distinguish  the  two 
groups  of  exceptional  children  is  that  of  social  fitness. 
Can  a  child  be  educated  for  self-support  and  an  in- 
dependent existence  in  the  community?  If  so,  he  is 
socially  competent.  If  not,  he  is  socially  incompetent. 
205 


A  child  of  normal  mentality  may  be  so  badly  de- 
formed that  he  will  require  certain  assistance,  but 
this  does  not  make  him  socially  incompetent.  The 
fact  is  that  a  child  of  normal  mentality  must  live  in 
a  world  of  normal  people  and  should  be  educated  for 
normal  associations.  The  child  who  can  not  become 
an  independent  member  of  the  community  should  be 
trained  for  his  life  of  dependence. 

The  difference  in  treatment  accorded  to  the  two 
groups  must  be  based  on  this  fundamental  difference 
between  social  competence  and  social  incompetence. 
The  socially  competent  will  spend  the  greater  part 
of  their  lives  in  close  association  with  other  self- 
supporting  units  of  society — the  normal  people.  They 
will  not  be  segregated  in  institutions.  Because  of 
this  fact  their  education  should  aim  to  make  them 
capable  of  normal  associations.  For  this  purpose 
their  education  should  take  place  in  the  regular  school 
buildings  and  as  much  as  possible  with  normal  chil- 
dren. Much  of  the  instruction  will  necessarily  be 
given  to  groups  of  similarly  handicapped  children, 
but  wherever  it  is  possible  they  should  be  taught  in 
the  regular  classrooms. 

The  policy  for  the  training  of  the  socially  incom- 
petent is  in  sharp  contrast  to  that  for  the  education 
of  the  socially  competent.  Their  distinguishing  char- 
acteristic is  that  they  are  unable  to  exist  as  indepen- 
dent units  of  society.  Some  of  these  are  insane,  some 
are  epileptic,  and  some  are  feebleminded.  In  the  case 
of  the  insane  we  have  fully  recognized  the  dependence 
and  have  eliminated  them  from  the  schools.  The 
206 


necessity  for  a  segregation  of  the  epileptic  and  the 
feebleminded  has  not  yet  been  universally  recog- 
nized. Nevertheless  modern  science  shows  that  when 
these  people  reach  the  age  of  maturity  they  should 
become  permanent  residents  of  institutions.  For  this 
reason  their  training  should  be  directed  toward  their 
own  maintenance  in  a  place  where  most  of  their 
actions  are  directed  by  others.  Since  the  aim  is  segre- 
gation of  all  those  who  will  find  it  impossible  to  main- 
tain an  independent  existence,  it  is  not  desirable  to 
attempt  to  train  them  for  association  with  normal 
people.  No  benefit  is  derived  by  the  normal  nor  by 
the  socially  incompetent  child  from  an  enforced  asso- 
ciation in  the  regular  school  or  classroom.  On  the 
contrary,  such  an  association  is  harmful  rather  than 
beneficial.  The  training  of  the  socially  incompetent 
should  take  place  in  separate  classrooms,  and,  if  pos- 
sible, in  separate  buildings. 


Classes  for  the  Blind 
There  are  two  kinds  of  classes  for  the  blind.  One  is 
for  children  totally  blind  and  the  other  for  children 
frequently  called  semi-blind.  There  are  three  classes 
of  each  type.  A  class  is  in  session  for  six  hours  a  day 
in  a  regular  school  building.  The  instruction  follows 
closely  that  of  the  regular  grades,  each  blind  child 
being  supposed  to  cover  the  same  work  as  the  normal 
child. 

This  arrangement  of  having  the  blind  taught  in  the 
classes  with  seeing  children  has  been  called  the 
207 


"Cleveland  plan."  It  is  one  of  the  several  instances 
in  which  this  city  is  a  pioneer.  In  adult  life  the  blind 
and  the  semi-blind  will  not  be  segregated  in  institu- 
tions but  will  spend  their  lives  in  association  with 
normal  people.  They  are  prepared  for  participation 
in  normal  social  intercourse  by  education,  as  far  as 
possible,  in  classes  with  seeing  children.  Precisely 
this  principle  leads  us  to  recommend  similar  treat- 
ment for  all  other  socially  competent  but  exceptional 
children. 

The  classes  are  supervised  by  one  who  is  listed  in 
the  superintendent's  annual  report  as  the  "Special 
Teacher  of  the  Blind."  He  is  recognized  by  the 
teachers  assigned  to  the  classes  as  the  supervisor  of 
the  work.  The  arrangement  is  not  conducive  to  the 
best  development.  With  the  duties  of  an  office  to 
perform,  it  is  always  more  satisfactory  for  the  re- 
sponsible person  to  have  a  position  which  is  clearly 
distinguished  from  that  of  his  assistants.  A  division 
for  the  instruction  of  the  blind  should  be  created,  and 
the  office  of  "Supervisor"  of  this  department  should 
replace  that  of  the  "Special  Teacher  of  the  Blind." 

There  are  two  ways  in  which  the  work  for  the  blind 
and  semi-blind  could  be  greatly  helped  and  at  a  rela- 
tively slight  cost.  In  the  first  place,  more  generous 
provision  should  be  made  for  printing  school  texts  in 
very  large  type  so  as  to  supply  adequate  reading 
material  for  semi-blind  children.  A  good  beginning 
has  been  made  in  this  work,  but  the  supply  of  these 
books  is  not  as  yet  nearly  adequate. 

A  second  important  step  would  be  the  appoint- 
208 


ment  of  a  visiting  teacher  who  could  effectively  co- 
ordinate the  work  of  the  school  and  the  home  in 
behalf  of  these  handicapped  children.  The  work  with 
the  children  would  give  far  greater  results  if  it  could 
be  wisely  followed  up  through  systematic  visiting  in 
the  homes  of  the  children. 


Classes  for  the  Deaf 
For  the  deaf  liberal  provision  has  been  made  in  the 
construction  of  a  modern,  well-equipped  building. 
Unfortunately  it  was  not  realized  that  the  deaf  as 
well  as  the  blind  would  be  better  fitted  for  associa- 
tion with  normal  people  if  their  education  were  given 
in  close  relation  with  those  who  would  later  be  their 
regular  companions.  Every  deaf  child  needs  all  the 
contact  possible  with  normal  children.  For  this 
reason  deaf  children  should  receive  their  education 
in  special  classes  in  the  regular  schools  rather  than  in 
a  special  school. 

By  the  present  arrangement  the  deaf  child  is  sepa- 
rated from  the  normal  during  the  entire  period  of  the 
school  sessions.  He  is  educated  in  an  abnormal  en- 
vironment, an  environment  in  which  all  his  com- 
panions have  a  similar  affliction.  This  is  the  wrong 
sort  of  education.  He  should  be  as  much  as  possible 
in  the  same  conditions  in  which  he  will  have  to  live. 
This  means  that  a  considerable  number  of  classes 
should  be  established  in  the  regular  school  building. 
When  this  is  done,  a  certain  part  of  the  instruction 
will  be  given  to  a  group  of  deaf  children  in  a  group 
14  209 


by  themselves.  As  in  the  case  of  the  blind,  as  much 
of  the  instruction  as  possible  should  be  given  in 
classes  with  normal  children.  In  the  early  part  of 
school  life  the  time  that  the  deaf  are  in  the  same  room 
with  hearing  children  may  well  be  limited  to  physical 
exercises,  simple  manual  work,  and  similar  activities. 
As  the  children  develop  and  become  skilful  in  lip- 
reading,  more  and  more  of  the  time  may  profitably 
be  spent  in  classes  with  normal  children. 

Classes  for  the  deaf  should  be  established  in  a  con- 
siderable number  of  regular  schools.  Sufficient  com- 
pensation should  be  offered  to  attract  adequately 
trained  teachers.  Probably  more  than  700  children 
should  have  the  advantages  of  the  special  instruction 
now  given  to  one-seventh  of  this  number. 


Classes  for  Crippled  Children 
The  school  for  crippled  children  is  located  in  a  tem- 
porary frame  structure  in  close  proximity  to  a  regular 
school.  The  work  of  the  children  in  this  school  is 
similar  to  that  of  children  in  other  schools.  The  prin- 
cipal has  the  same  duties  as  a  regular  elementary 
school  principal. 

At  the  present  time  plans  are  being  considered  for 
the  erection  of  a  building  which  will  include  all 
modem  facilities  for  the  instruction  of  the  crippled. 
Before  this  plan  is  put  into  effect  it  would  be  wise  to 
consider  whether  or  not  the  city  is  getting  into  the 
same  difficulty  with  the  crippled  children  as  it  has 
with  the  deaf.  All  children  admitted  to  these  classes 
210 


should  have  sufficient  abiUty  to  learn  trades  or  pro- 
fessions by  which  they  may  make  their  own  living. 
If  a  selection  is  made  which  will  bring  about  this 
result,  every  child  will  eventually  take  his  place  in 
the  world  in  close  association  with  normal  people. 

For  this  reason  his  education  should  be  given  in 
circumstances  most  likely  to  develop  normal  reac- 
tions. Ideally  this  will  be  in  the  same  surroundings 
as  provided  for  the  well-formed  and  strong  child. 
Classes  for  the  crippled  children  should  be  conducted 
in  regular  school  buildings,  each  class  being  organized 
where  it  is  most  convenient  for  a  sufficient  number 
of  children. 

The  greater  value  of  the  special  class  should  lead 
to  its  adoption  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  actual 
expenditure  will  be  greater.  Probably  several  hun- 
dred children  should  be  sent  to  these  special  classes 
for  cripples. 

Open  Air  Classes 
By  providing  open  air  rooms  in  the  regular  schools 
Cleveland  had  adopted  the  wise  method  of  educating 
together  those  who  must  live  and  work  together. 
The  success  of  the  children  is  sufficient  to  warrant 
the  extension  of  the  opportunity  to  all  who  might 
profit  by  it. 

"Steamer"  Classes 

Children  who  do  not  speak  English  come  to  every 

large  center  of  population.    For  a  time  these  children 

are  misfits  in  the  regular  grades.    They  should  be 

211 


given  the  opportunity  to  learn  the  language  before 
they  are  placed  in  a  class  with  30  or  40  other  children 
who  are  not  similarly  handicapped.  In  1901  the 
principal  of  Harmon  School  recognized  this  necessity 
and  organized  the  first  "steamer"  class. 

The  purpose  of  the  steamer  classes  is  the  rapid 
acquirement  of  the  English  language.  The  progress 
of  the  children  amply  justifies  the  expense  of  all 
advantages  given  to  them.  The  advantages  should 
be  given  to  every  child  who  does  not  speak  English. 
The  work  of  the  classes  should  not  be  handicapped 
by  the  presence  of  feebleminded  children. 


Speech  Defects 
No  provision  has  yet  been  made  for  the  children  with 
defective  speech.  Probably  more  than  1,000  Cleve- 
land children  require  special  speech  training.  Speech 
classes  should  be  organized  in  many  schools.  The 
teacher  should  be  a  qualified  articulation  teacher, 
with  special  training  in  pedagogy  and  psychology.  A 
beginning  in  the  work  should  be  made  immediately 
with  the  best  teachers  obtainable.  State  funds  may 
pay  for  the  instruction  of  a  considerable  number.  No 
feebleminded  children  should  be  admitted  to  the 
classes. 

Restoration  Classes 
Irregularity  of  attendance  frequently  causes  retarda- 
tion.   A  diagnosis  of  mental  grade  in  children  whose 
ability  is  doubtful  may  usually  be  made  after  a  period 
212 


of  intensive  training.  Restoration  classes  should  pro- 
vide opportunity  for  the  retarded  to  advance,  and 
for  the  doubtful  ones  to  prove  their  ability.  The 
teachers  of  these  classes  must  be  among  the  very  best 
in  the  school  system  and  because  of  this  should  re- 
ceive extra  compensation. 


Classes  for  Incorrigibles 
Cleveland  was  the  first  city  in  the  United  States  to 
organize  a  class  for  incorrigibles.  The  present  school 
is  doing  excellent  work,  but  the  treatment  of  these 
children  requires  a  more  social  point  of  view.  Special 
classes  where  the  children  would  not  be  altogether 
separated  from  other  types  of  children  should  be 
tried.  A  diagnosis  of  mental  status  should  precede 
transfer  to  a  class  for  incorrigibles. 

The  Socially  Incompetent 
For  socially  incompetent  children  Cleveland  has 
organized  different  types  of  classes.  In  some  of  these 
classes  the  proportion  of  feebleminded  is  high,  in 
others  very  low.  It  is  probable  that  a  considerable 
number  of  feebleminded  are  still  in  the  regular  grades. 
In  most  cases  Uberal  provision  has  been  made  for  the 
classes.  For  many  of  the  children  the  expenditure 
is  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  results  obtained. 

The  socially  incompetent  are  the  insane,  the  epi- 
leptic, and  the  feebleminded.    Socially  the  epileptic 
do  not  differ  from  the  feebleminded.    Lack  of  ability 
213 


for  self-maintenance  distinguishes  the  feebleminded 
from  the  normal.  In  Cleveland,  2,077  children,  ap- 
proximately three  per  cent  of  the  school  population, 
have  been  in  the  schools  three  or  more  years  longer 
than  the  grade  in  which  they  are  would  indicate.  All 
these  children  may  be  considered  suspects. 


The  Selection  op  Feebleminded  Children 
The  Division  of  Medical  Inspection  is  now  respon- 
sible for  the  selection  of  all  children  assigned  to 
classes  for  defectives.  The  mental  status  of  the  chil- 
dren is  determined  by  means  of  the  Binet-Simon  tests 
of  intelligence.  These  tests,  though  desirable  as 
additional  evidence  in  many  cases,  should  not  be 
used  as  the  only  available  ultimate  criteria  for  deter- 
mining whether  a  child  is  an  idiot,  feebleminded,  a 
moron,  or  normal.  Such  a  decision  is  too  conse- 
quential to  be  entrusted  to  the  verdict  of  a  single  and 
restricted  type  of  mental  test. 

In  many  respects  there  is  a  fair  analogy  between 
the  sputum  test  in  the  case  of  suspected  tuberculosis 
and  the  Binet-Simon  test  in  the  case  of  suspected 
mental  subnormality.  In  both  cases  the  test  involves 
a  technique  which  may  be  mastered  without  pro- 
longed preparation.  In  every  large  city  sputum 
examinations  are  regularly  conducted  by  laboratory 
workers  who  are  not  physicians  and  who  are  not  com- 
petent to  conduct  any  of  the  other  tests  for  tuber- 
culosis. In  a  corresponding  way  the  Binet-Simon 
tests  may  be  and  are  being  conducted  in  Cleveland 
214 


and  elsewhere  by  examiners  who  have  thoroughly 
mastered  this  special  technique,  but  who  are  not 
trained  psychologists  and  who  are  not  able  to  ad- 
minister the  other  available  tests  in  the  same  field. 
Just  as  it  would  be  foolish  to  entrust  the  final  verdict 
in  the  case  of  the  tuberculosis  suspect  to  the  micro- 
scopic examination  and  not  be  able  to  employ  the 
other  tests  in  case  of  doubt,  so  it  is  unwise  in  the  case 
of  suspected  mental  subnormality  to  have  only  the 
Binet-Simon  tests  as  the  final  resource  in  reaching  a 
decision. 

The  mental  tests  should  be  conducted  by  a  thor- 
oughly trained  psychologist  well  versed  in  the  use  of 
many  different  sorts  of  tests  and  possessed  of  pro- 
fessional equipment  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  keep 
fully  abreast  of  the  rapid  developments  in  this  field  of 
science.  The  psychologist  will  need  assistants  well 
trained  in  the  investigation  of  home  and  environ- 
mental conditions.  After  the  most  urgent  cases  have 
been  cared  for,  the  school  system  should  undertake  a 
systematic  testing  of  all  children  who  are  making 
seriously  slow  progress  or  encountering  unusual 
difficulties  in  their  school. 


What  Should  Be  Done  for  the  Feebleminded 
This  report  recommends  the  establishment  of  special 
schools  for  the  feebleminded.  At  the  present  time 
Cleveland  cares  for  these  children  in  special  classes 
located  in  regular  schools.  It  also  has  a  school  for 
the  backward  in  which  some  of  the  lower  grade  rooms 
215 


are  filled  with  normal  children.  There  should  be  a 
reorganization  through  which  the  seriously  defective 
children  would  be  segregated.  In  order  to  bring  about 
such  a  reorganization,  there  should  be  a  careful  re- 
classification of  the  children.  Those  of  approximately 
the  same  abiUty  and  of  about  the  same  ages  should 
be  grouped  in  classes. 

The  abiUties  of  the  pupils  should  determine  the 
type  of  teachers  who  would  be  selected  for  the  differ- 
ent classes.  There  seems  to  be  no  reason  why  the 
teachers  of  the  feebleminded  should  be  given  greater 
compensation  than  teachers  of  the  regular  grades. 
The  organization  of  all  classes  should  be  under  the 
direction  of  a  supervisor. 


The  Special  School  for  Feebleminded 
The  cost  of  instruction  for  children  in  special  classes 
in  the  regular  schools  is  considerably  greater  than  the 
cost  if  the  children  are  properly  grouped  in  special 
schools.  The  size  of  the  classes  in  the  special  schools 
would  be  greater  than  that  of  the  present  special 
classes,  but  in  each  class  there  would  be  only  that 
number  which  might  be  successfully  handled. 

Little  if  any  benefit  is  derived  by  the  feebleminded 
from  the  associations  of  the  regular  schools.  The 
special  school  will  recognize  only  a  segregation  al- 
ready put  into  effect  by  other  children.  The  cost 
for  special  schools  for  these  children  should  be  less 
than  the  expenditure  for  rooms  in  the  regular  schools. 
216 


An  Institution  for  the  Feebleminded 
For  the  welfare  of  society  all  the  feebleminded  should 
be  permanently  segregated  when  they  reach  maturity. 
Cleveland  is  in  a  favorable  position  for  the  beginning 
of  an  institution.  The  outlay  for  an  institution  is 
considerable,  but  in  view  of  the  present  expenditure 
of  the  schools  and  the  future  cost  of  the  feebleminded 
to  the  community,  the  expenditure  should  be  under- 
taken by  the  state,  or  by  the  city,  or  by  both  in 
cooperation. 

To  meet  the  cost  of  maintenance,  the  state  might 
be  persuaded  to  contribute,  as  it  has  in  the  case  of 
the  deaf,  the  bUnd,  and  the  crippled.  The  establish- 
ment of  an  institution  need  not  be  postponed  until 
there  is  legal  provision  for  the  commitment  of  the 
feebleminded.  Many  parents  would  be  glad  to  be 
relieved  of  responsibility  for  the  care  of  these  unfor- 
tunates. 


Conclusions  and  Recommendations 
1.  Cleveland  was  a  pioneer  in  estabUshing  special 
classes,  and  their  development  has  been  rapid  but 
irregular.  There  are  now  12  kinds  of  special  schools 
and  classes  enrolling  more  than  2,500  children  and 
cared  for  by  140  teachers. 

2.  Children  of  feeble  mentaUty  are  socially  incom- 
petent and  should  be  sent  to  special  schools  to  be 
trained  for  permanent  segregation. 

3.  Children  who  are  of  normal  mentality  are  so- 
cially  competent    even   though   physically    handi- 

217 


capped.  They  should  be  placed  in  special  classes  in 
the  regular  schools  to  be  trained  for  association  with 
normal  people. 

4.  All  children  who  do  not  speak  English  should 
be  given  the  advantages  of  training  in  special  classes, 
and  this  work  should  not  be  handicapped  by  the 
presence  of  feebleminded  children. 

5.  Provision  should  be  made  for  the  training  of 
children  with  defective  speech. 

6.  A  diagnosis  of  mental  status  should  in  every 
case  precede  the  transfer  of  a  child  to  a  class  for 
incorrigibles. 

7.  Tests  for  the  mental  diagnosis  of  children  should 
be  conducted  by  a  thoroughly  trained  psychologist 
possessed  of  sufficient  professional  equipment  to  en- 
able him  to  keep  fully  abreast  of  the  rapid  develop- 
ments in  this  field  of  science. 

8.  Cleveland  should  seriously  consider  the  feasi- 
bility of  establishing  a  municipal  institution  for  the 
feebleminded. 


218 


CHAPTER  XI 

HOUSEHOLD  ARTS  AND  SCHOOL  LUNCHES 

(Alice  C.  Boughton) 

The  monograph  report  bearing  the  above  title  is  in 
reality  a  collection  of  five  separate  reports  dealing 
respectively  with  household  arts  in  elementary 
schools  and  in  high  schools,  with  the  administration 
of  the  lunch  service  in  elementary  schools  and  in  high 
schools,  and  with  the  instruction  given  in  the  subject 
of  infant  hygiene.  This  summary  gives  the  findings 
of  these  five  sections  separately  and  in  the  order  just 
indicated. 


HOUSEHOLD  ARTS  IN  ELEMENTARY 
SCHOOLS 
Field  work  for  the  report  was  begun  in  May,  1915, 
when  visits  were  made  to  all  cooking  centers  then  in 
operation,  and  to  special  or  regular  classrooms  while 
sewing  lessons  were  in  progress.  When  possible,  each 
visit  included  a  short  conference  with  teachers  and 
principals,  and  occasionally  the  visitor  made  an  op- 
portunity to  talk  with  the  children.  In  conference 
with  the  supervisor  of  household  arts,  a  study  was 
made  of  what  material  was  on  record  in  the  superin- 
219 


tendent's  ofl5ce.  Other  persons  in  this  office  and  that 
of  the  director  of  schools  furnished  or  checked  infor- 
mation received  elsewhere. 

This  is  the  first  separate  report  on  household  arts 
made  by  any  school  survey.  Its  purpose  is  to  serve 
educational  needs  by  studying  present  conditions  and 
forecasting  future  developments. 


Household  Arts  Training 
The  first  household  arts  and  science  classes  were  es- 
tablished in  the  United  States  in  eastern  cities  in  the 
early  eighties.  The  movement  spread  rapidly;  nor- 
mal schools  and  colleges  established  special  classes; 
and  in  1909  the  American  Home  Economics  Associa- 
tion was  formed.  Household  science  courses  in 
Cleveland  date  from  1884.  In  1893  the  first  grade 
centers  for  cooking  were  established  in  the  regular 
public  schools. 


Present  Conditions  in  Cleveland 
There  are  at  present  20  regular  and  seven  special 
cooking  centers  in  the  pubUc  schools.  Cooking  is 
taught  to  all  girls  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  years. 
Each  center  cares  for  approximately  300  children  a 
week.  The  estimated  cost  of  initial  equipment  is 
$1,200,  with  $22  a  year  for  upkeep.  The  household 
science  centers  are  cheerful  and  well  kept. 

In  older  centers  the  hollow  square  arrangement  of 
tables  with  single  gas  burners  is  used.     In  newer 
220 


schools  the  small  group  of  six  children  with  one 
family-size  gas  range  is  more  frequently  found.  Cleve- 
land for  the  most  part  has  these  kitchen  laboratory 
centers  but  has  placed  model  apartments  in  a  few  of 
the  newer  schools.  Several  schools  have  special 
rooms  for  household  arts,  with  sewing  machines, 
lockers,  display  cases,  and  other  equipment. 

Supervision 
The  supervisor  of  household  arts  is  an  educational 
officer  responsible  to  the  superintendent  of  schools 
and  appointed  on  his  recommendation.  She  prepares 
the  course  of  study;  supervises  the  work  of  the  spe- 
cial teachers  of  those  subjects  and  the  elementary 
teachers  in  sewing;  and  selects  equipment  and  plans 
arrangement  of  new  centers.  Clerical  assistance  is 
inadequate  to  handle  the  necessary  routine  clerical 
work  of  her  office.  As  a  consequence  the  supervisor 
is  forced  to  neglect  her  supervisory  duties  for  clerical 
work. 

The  Teaching  Corps 
The  household  arts  corps  consists  of  a  supervisor,  27 
cooking  teachers,  and  four  sewing  teachers.  They 
are  well  hked  by  principals  and  children,  are  inter- 
ested, conscientious,  painstaking,  and  well  trained. 
In  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  teachers  of  household 
science  in  Cleveland  fail  to  appreciate  the  wider 
aspects  of  their  work.  They  are  interested  in  methods 
but  pay  little  attention  to  selection  of  subject  matter, 
reasons,  or  results. 

221 


Teachers*  Salaries 
Cleveland  schools  have  secured  well-trained  teachers 
at  bargain  prices.  They  have  had  on  the  average 
longer  preparation  for  their  work  than  have  the 
manual  training  teachers,  but  their  salaries  begin  at 
$500  per  year  with  a  maximum  after  10  years  of 
$1,000,  while  the  manual  training  teachers  begin  at 
$900,  with  a  maximum  of  $1,500.  Twenty  out  of  the 
31  household  arts  teachers  receive  $750  a  year  or 
less.    This  salary  is  seriously  inadequate. 

Attitude  op  Principals,  Parents,  and  Pupils 

Toward  Household  Arts 
The  elementary  school  principals  are  uniformly  in 
favor  of  household  arts  teaching  in  the  grades.  In 
most  cases  they  have  paid  little  attention  to  the 
educational  values  aimed  at,  or  the  results  actually 
achieved. 

In  general  parents,  club  women,  and  social  agen- 
cies are  interested  and  favorable  in  their  attitude 
toward  household  arts  teaching.  Many  parents  are 
immensely  "practical"  about  it.  They  say  that  it 
teaches  girls  to  be  more  useful  at  home.  In  foreign 
districts  the  parents  will  sometimes  let  girls  stay  in 
school  longer  if  they  are  getting  something  useful. 

Cooking  is  generally  popular  with  girls.  Sewing 
they  do  not  like  so  well,  for  it  offers  less  variety  and 
delayed  returns.  In  cooking  at  least  one  or  two  new 
dishes  are  prepared  each  lesson,  but  it  takes  many 
lessons  to  make  an  apron  or  an  undergarment.  Then, 
too,  the  sewing  is  generally  taught  in  the  regular 
222 


classrooms,  and  for  cooking  the  children  leave  the 
room  and  frequently  the  building.  So  the  cooking 
lesson  is  something  to  look  forward  to.  The  rooms 
are  different  and  attractive,  the  lesson,  by  its  very 
nature,  is  much  less  formal  than  the  routine  work, 
and  it  is  part  of  the  game  to  eat  the  product  of  one's 
own  hands 

Course  of  Study 
The  course  of  study  for  both  household  science  and 
arts  was  being  reshaped  when  the  survey  was  in 
progress,  and  with  the  opening  of  school  in  Septem- 
ber, 1915,  a  new  course  went  into  effect.  The  old 
course  in  household  science  has  already  been  aban- 
doned, so  it  would  be  a  waste  of  time  to  criticise  it. 
The  new  one  is  only  tentative  and  will  be  all  year  in 
the  making.  A  new  course  of  study  is  now  being 
used  which  will  certainly  be  a  decided  improvement 
over  that  formerly  used.  Since  it  has  not  yet  been 
tried  in  detail,  it  cannot  be  discussed  at  length. 


Practical  Suggestions  Regarding  the  Work 
One-piece  cooking  aprons  and  caps  which  cover  the 
hair  would  be  more  hygienic  and  could  be  made  fully 
as  attractive  as  those  now  in  use. 

Printed  lesson  leaves  distributed  at  each  lesson  and 
kept  in  loose-leaf  notebooks  are  preferable  to  the 
hand-written  recipes  and  notes  now  in  use.     The 
present  method  is  inaccurate  and  time  consuming. 
223 


Model  Housekeeping  Apartments 
There  are  two  types  of  housekeeping  apartments  in 
Cleveland  schools.  One  represents  conditions  com- 
monly found  in  the  neighborhood;  the  other  has  the 
equipment  found  in  the  best  modern  apartments. 
The  apparent  antagonism  between  these  two  methods 
is  one  of  appearance  only.  The  model  apartment 
should  train  girls  to  make  the  best  of  what  they  have 
and  at  the  same  time  show  them  how  much  more  can 
be  accomplished  in  less  time  with  less  effort  when 
suitable  tools  are  used.  The  model  apartment  should 
arouse  girls  to  strive  for  better  conditions,  and  is  a 
valuable  adjunct  to  the  teaching  of  domestic  science 
and  arts  in  the  schools. 


Relation  of  Household  Arts  to  Elementary 

Education 
The  argument  most  commonly  advanced  in  favor  of 
household  arts  teaching  in  the  elementary  schools 
is  that  it  trains  girls  to  be  good  homemakers  and 
housekeepers.  The  two  are  thought  of  as  overlap- 
ping, intermingling,  as  being  almost  synonymous. 
Courses  dealing  with  the  subject  matter  of  household 
arts  are  announced  in  different  cities  under  names 
such  as  homemaking,  home  economics,  household 
economy,  household  science,  housewifery,  household 
arts,  and  similar  captions.  In  reaUty  homemaking 
and  housekeeping  are  different  and  distinct. 


224 


HOMEMAKING   VERSUS   HOUSEKEEPING 

Housekeeping  and  homemaking  are  not  synonymous. 
They  are  separate  in  life  and  distinct  in  education. 
Housekeeping  is  a  business  and  a  vocation,  and  is 
subject  to  rules  and  standards  just  as  objective  as 
those  of  any  other  business.  Homemaking  is  an  art, 
an  avocation,  and  a  marginal  activity.  It  is  not  a 
matter  of  rules,  but  of  human  preferences  in  combi- 
nations unlimited.  Housekeeping  is  woman's  eco- 
nomic contribution  to  the  family  income.  Home 
depends  upon  such  factors  as  social  organization  and 
use  of  marginal  time. 

Both  Boys  and  Girls  Need  Education  for 
Homemaking 
The  invention  of  machinery  has  made  two  great 
contributions  to  mankind — more  goods  and  free 
time.  This  free  time  to  be  enjoyed  must  be  organized 
for  fruitful  use.  If  free  time  is  not  to  become  an  evil, 
fruitful  activity  must  be  devised  to  replace  work 
which  once  kept  all  men  busy.  To  function  effectively 
in  one's  leisure  time  one  must  be  educated  for  leisure. 
Provision  of  such  education  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant tasks  of  the  public  school. 

Homemaking  must  be  an  active  process  for  every 
person  therein  concerned.  The  school  can  in  large 
measure  equip  boys  and  girls  to  be  homemakers; 
but  this  highly  socialized  education  should  not  be 
confused  with  strictly  technical  vocational  courses 
now  offered  by  departments  of  household  arts. 
15  225 


Function  of  Household  Arts  and  Its  Two 

Aspects 

First  it  can  give  skill  in  doing  household  work.  Such 

training  is  vocational  in  character.  It  is  not  the  best 

kind  of  education  for  elementary  school  children. 

The  second  division  of  household  arts  enables 
people  to  form  correct  judgments  regarding  the  use 
of  food,  clothing,  and  shelter  as  they  relate  to  their 
daily  life.  This  is  the  more  important  aspect  of 
household  arts  for  the  elementary  school. 

Selection  of  Subject  Matter 
The  previous  discussion  would  confine  the  main  line 
of  attack  for  household  arts  in  the  elementary  school 
to  problems  directly  involved  in  giving  children 
standards  for  right  Uving.  This  necessitates  search- 
ing study.  Problems  must  be  isolated  and  separately 
analyzed  in  a  conscious  eflfort  to  find  out  those  which 
must  be  handled,  wholly  or  in  part,  by  the  school 
because  children  do  not  get  the  needed  control  over 
them  elsewhere,  and  those  which  may  be  omitted 
because  children  have  sufficiently  close  contact  with 
them  outside  of  school. 


A  Housekeeping  Course  in  the  Junior  High 

School 
As  one  phase  of  the  social  insurance  that  each  genera- 
tion takes  out  in  behalf  of  the  nation,  it  seems  the 
part  of  wisdom  for  the  pubUc  schools  to  organize  a 
226 


one-year  housekeeping  course  for  all  girls  designed 
especially  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  majority  who  drop 
out  of  school  in  the  seventh,  eighth,  and  ninth  grades. 
Such  a  course  might  well  be  a  part  of  the  work  of  the 
second  year  of  the  junior  high  school,  which  cor- 
responds to  the  present  eighth  grade.  It  should  be 
practical  and  intensive  in  nature  and  endeavor  to 
give  the  girls  training  in  meeting  the  universal  every- 
day problems  of  housekeeping.  It  should  especially 
stress  labor-saving  methods  and  devices. 


HOUSEHOLD  ARTS  IN  HIGH  SCHOOLS 
Field  work  for  the  report  on  household  arts  in  second- 
ary schools  was  done  while  the  survey  was  in  prog- 
ress. The  writer  visited  both  academic  and  technical 
high  schools.  Principals  and  teachers  put  at  her 
disposal  all  printed  material,  such  as  school  an- 
nouncements or  courses  of  study  they  had,  and  sup- 
plemented it  by  valuable  comments  and  suggestions 
relating  to  problems  involved  in  the  education  of 
girls. 

Space,  Physical  Equipment,  and  Costs 
Generous  space  is  allotted  to  household  arts.  Classes 
vary  from  15  to  30  girls  and  average  about  24. 
Equipment  is  excellent  and  kept  in  good  repair. 
Costs  of  equipment  and  maintenance  cannot  be 
given  as  they  are  included  in  funds  set  aside  for  in- 
dividual buildings. 

227 


Course  of  Study  in  Technical  Schools 
General  topics  considered  at  academic  and  technical 
schools  are  alike,  but  the  latter  schools  go  into  greater 
detail  and  make  a  conscious  effort  to  correlate  each 
year's  work  with  academic  subjects.  The  two  tech- 
nical high  schools  house  22  per  cent  of  all  high  school 
girls. 

Teaching  in  the  technical  high  schools  follows  the 
so-called  laboratory  method.  Girls  are  required  to 
keep  notebooks  in  which  they  record  work  as  they 
might  a  laboratory  experiment  in  chemistry.  The 
Cleveland  technical  high  schools  have  as  their  im- 
mediate end  "to  prepare  youths  of  both  sexes  for 
a  definite  vocation  and  for  efficient  industrial  citi- 
zenship." This  study  seems  to  indicate  that  these 
schools  do  not  give  girls  the  kind  of  education  that 
fits  them  for  jobs  open  to  them  when  they  leave 
school. 


West  Technical  Lunchroom  Used  for  Voca- 
tional Work 
At  West  Technical  High  School  about  15  senior 
students  take  major  courses  in  lunchroom  manage- 
ment. They  do  a  large  share  of  the  work  of  the  lunch- 
room, but  they  do  not  acquire  a  sense  of  responsi- 
bility for  the  conduct  of  the  work  as  a  whole.  This 
course  teaches  well  the  scientific  basis,  but  neglects 
the  business  and  art  of  lunchroom  management.  A 
study  of  high  school  lunchrooms  where  students  are 
intimately  connected  with  the  conduct  of  their  lunch 
228 


service,  as  in  Los  Angeles  or  Gary,  should  furnish 
valuable  practical  suggestions  for  developing  and 
strengthening  the  course. 

Trade  Work  in  Foods  and  Sanitation 
At  East  Technical  High  School  senior  girls  who  spe- 
cialize in  foods  and  sanitation  take  trade  order  work 
in  that  subject.  The  class  is  popular.  There  are  al- 
ways more  applicants  than  can  be  accommodated, 
and  girls  who  enter  do  good  work  and  progress,  but 
available  positions  are  not  considered  socially  de- 
sirable by  parents  and  teachers,  or  else  they  call,  in 
addition  to  specific  technique,  for  maturity  which 
18-year-old  girls  do  not  possess. 

Although  the  course  does  not  serve  the  purpose 
intended,  it  has  a  very  real  cultural  value.  The 
writer  would  advocate  this  type  of  teaching  through- 
out the  four  years,  and  certainly  its  extension  to  in- 
clude all  regular  fourth  year  students,  for  in  her 
judgment,  trade  work  in  foods  and  sanitation  repre- 
sents the  city's  best  teaching  in  household  arts. 

Courses  of  Study  in  Academic  High  Schools 
In  September,  1915,  a  two  years'  course  in  household 
arts  was  organized  for  third  and  fourth  year  girls  in 
the  six  academic  schools.  About  one-sixth  of  the 
girl's  school  time  for  two  years  is  allotted  to  this 
subject.  Money  was  appropriated  to  defray  neces- 
sary expenses,  but  apparently  no  policy  was  out- 
lined regarding  the  nature  and  scope  of  this  work. 
Junior  high  schools  were  opened  a  little  later,  in 
229 


the  fall  of  1915,  and  those  gu-ls  also  are  obliged  to 
study  household  arts.  This  course  is  planned  after 
that  given  in  the  elementary  schools,  but  will  proba- 
bly expand  in  the  future. 

Teaching  Force 
The  high  school  force  in  household  arts  numbers  26. 
In  preparation  for  their  work  teachers  vary  widely 
among  themselves.  They  are  as  well  paid  as  teachers 
of  the  academic  subjects.  In  Cleveland  their  salary 
scale  progresses  in  18  years  from  $1,000  to  $2,000. 
Teachers  are  distinguished  by  their  faith  in  house- 
hold arts  and  their  eagerness  to  make  sacrifices  for  it. 
Emphasis  should  be  laid  upon  the  necessity  for 
broader  cultural  background  and  more  active  staff 
discussion  of  the  wider  problems  concerning  the  edu- 
cation of  girls. 

Supervision 
At  present  there  is  no  satisfactory  form  of  super- 
vision for  household  arts  teaching  in  Cleveland's 
secondary  schools.  This  city  has  yet  to  delegate  to 
some  one  person  or  group  of  persons,  as  their  most 
important  responsibility,  the  task  of  grappling  with 
the  highly  complex  problems  involved  in  the  general 
and  vocational  education  of  girls. 


ELEMENTARY  SCHOOL  LUNCH  SERVICE 

This  report  is  based  on  visits  made  to  each  of  the 

various  types  of  schools  where  lunch  is  served;  on 

230 


interviews  at  the  schools  with  principals,  class  teach- 
ers, and  cooks;  on  careful  study  of  minutes  of  the 
Board  of  Education  which  relate  to  elementary  lunch 
service  since  its  beginning  in  1909;  on  study  of  all 
available  material  issued  by  the  Federated  Clubs; 
and  on  conferences  with  the  chairman  of  the  Philan- 
thropy Committee,  the  superintendent  of  lunches, 
the  director  of  medical  inspection,  the  school  archi- 
tect, supervisor  of  requisitions  and  supplies,  and  the 
director  of  schools. 


Elementary  School  Lunches  from  Two  Points 

OF  View 
There  are  two  viewpoints  regarding  school  feeding: 
the  one,  Cleveland's,  that  it  is  a  duty  imposed  upon 
the  school  by  the  particular  needs  of  a  particular 
group;  the  other,  that  school  lunches  meet  a  natural 
need  of  all  children,  normal  and  exceptional,  and 
afford  at  the  same  time  an  opportunity  to  teach  them 
to  choose  wisely  the  food  they  buy. 

School  Meals  as  Supplements  or  Substitutes 

FOR  Home  Meals 
School  lunches  are  of  two  kinds :  those  which  supple- 
ment the  home  dietary,  and  those  which  take  the 
place  of  meals  at  home.  Recess  lunches  generally 
fall  into  the  former  class,  noon  lunches  into  the  latter. 
Recess  lunches  present  the  simpler  feeding  problem 
and  are  cheaper  to  provide.  Noon  lunches  are  much 
231 


more  complex.  Cleveland  is  far  in  advance  of  most 
cities  in  providing  Imiches,  served  under  sanitary 
conditions,  for  all  members  of  classes  for  blind,  crip- 
pled, and  open  air  children. 


Kinds  of  Lunches  and  by  Whom  Provided 
The  Board  of  Education  pays  for  meals  which  the 
Philanthropy  Committee  of  the  Federation  of  Wo- 
men's Clubs  and  the  Society  for  Promoting  the  In- 
terests of  the  Blind  provide.  ResponsibiUty  for  de- 
tails of  work  is  divided  among  the  two  organiza- 
tions, the  principals,  and  the  supervisor  of  high  school 
lunches.  Food  is  wholesome  and  plentiful,  but  not 
uniform  in  quality.  It  is  prepared  by  women  en- 
gaged by  the  two  organizations.  They  use  their 
judgment  regarding  recipes,  methods  of  preparation, 
and  results  to  be  obtained. 

Cleveland's  lunch  service  is  costly  because: 

1.  Lunch  is  served  to  exceptional  children  only, 
in  small  and  widely  scattered  groups. 

2.  Authority  and  responsibihty  for  the  service  are 
divided,  making  impossible  any  definite  and  cen- 
tralized contracts  or  planning. 


Food  Natural  Need  of  All  Children 
The  school  exists  for  all  children  and  must  care  for 
all.  Food  is  a  natural  need  of  aU  children.  Morning 
recess  provides  a  good  opportunity  for  all  children 
to  get  food  when  they  want  it  at  a  time  when  it  is 
232 


good  for  them.  Through  food  clinics  it  can  care  for 
under-nourished  children,  who  are  a  menace,  not 
only  to  themselves,  but  to  all  other  children.  Food 
is  the  treatment  for  malnutrition. 

School  Lunch  or  Street  Lunch 
Children  spend  money  for  food.  Given  the  oppor- 
tunity, they  will  spend  it  at  school  for  wholesome 
food,  otherwise  on  the  street.  The  street  lunch  is  of 
cheap  material  priced  high.  Every  time  they  buy 
it,  children  get  wrong  impressions  about  what  con- 
stitutes food  and  how  much  good  food  a  penny  or  a 
nickel  will  buy. 

Lunch  Service  a  Big  Business 
The  annual  food  expenditure  of  children  is  very  great. 
In  June,  1915,  Cleveland  had  77,833  children  in  her 
public  elementary  schools.  Judging  from  other  cities, 
each  one  of  these  children  spends  about  $1.50  for 
food  each  school  year,  or  a  total  of  approximately 
$116,750  per  school  year. 

Consolidated  Lunch  Service  Recommended 
The  Philanthropy  Committee  of  the  Cleveland 
Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  has  rendered  a  public 
service.  It  began  its  work  in  1909  with  the  avowed 
purpose  of  pointing  out  the  need  for  a  lunch  service 
for  exceptional  children,  and  of  showing  how  such 
a  service  could  be  administered. 
233 


The  Committee  has  successfully  accomplished  its 
purpose.  It  should  now  be  relieved  from  further  re- 
sponsibility for  the  lunch  service.  The  function  of  a 
private  organization  is  to  experiment  and  demon- 
strate. It  cannot  eventuate  on  a  large  scale,  and  it 
should  not  if  it  could.  The  function  of  a  pubUc  or- ; 
ganization  is  to  eventuate  on  a  large  scale.  It  can 
seldom  experiment  and  it  lacks  freedom  and  flexi- 
bility in  demonstration.  The  time  has  come  for 
Cleveland  to  eventuate  on  a  large  scale. 

To  organize  lunches  throughout  the  elementary- 
schools  would  require  no  great  outlay  beyond  initial 
equipment,  since  with  proper  management  the  busi- 
ness will  be  big  enough  to  pay  its  own  way,  par- 
ticularly if  it  is  combined  with  the  high  school  lunch 
service.  The  latter  is  organized  on  a  large  scale;  the 
elementary  service  is  partially  organized;  the  two 
should  be  centrahzed  and  consolidated. 


HIGH  SCHOOL  LUNCH  SERVICE 
This  report  is  based  on  at  least  one  visit  made  to 
every  school  during  the  lunch  period,  on  interviews 
with  concessionnaires  and  principals  at  all  schools; 
on  careful  study  of  minutes  of  Board  of  Education 
since  1909  and  of  lunch  records  on  file  in  the  division 
of  medical  inspection;  and  on  conferences  with  the 
supervisor  of  lunches,  the  director  of  medical  inspec- 
tion, the  school  architect,  the  supervisor  of  requisi- 
tions and  supplies,  and  the  director  of  schools. 
234 


The  most  progressive  cities  have  consciously  for- 
mulated a  method  of  meeting  the  school  lunch  prob- 
lem. This  group  includes  Boston,  Philadelphia,  Co- 
lumbus, Pittsburgh,  Toledo,  and  Cleveland. 


Two  Distinct  Policies  with  Regard  to  School 

Lunch  Service 
In  the  United  States  high  school  lunchrooms  are  of 
two  sorts — those  run  by  concessionnaires  who  try 
to  make  them  yield  the  largest  possible  personal 
profit,  and  those  run  by  educational  employees  with 
the  aim  of  putting  extra  profit  back  into  increased 
food  and  better  service.  Cleveland's  lunchrooms  are 
of  the  first  sort. 

Cleveland  has  an  exceptional  opportunity  to  do 
good  work  in  this  field.  Six  years  ago  the  school 
board  adopted  a  progressive  policy  regarding  high 
school  lunch  service.  It  supplied  all  necessary  equip- 
ment free  of  charge  and  three  years  ago  appointed 
a  supervisor  paid  by  school  funds.  Lunch  is  served 
by  concessionnaires  who  apply  for  the  privilege ;  they 
give  their  time  and  receive  in  return  all  profit  from 
the  lunch.  Last  year  this  service  was  provided  for 
83  per  cent  of  Cleveland's  high  school  students. 


Place  of  Lunch  Service  in  the  School  System 

The  high  school  lunch  service  is  a  midday  service 

and  takes  the  place  of  home  meals.   It  has  a  double 

235 


task :  to  serve  a  light  lunch  for  children  whose  main 
meal  comes  at  night,  and  a  substantial  dinner  to 
children  who  miss  the  family  dinner  by  being  at 
school.  Cleveland  performs  this  task  in  certain  of  her 
high  schools,  but  in  the  majority  the  menu  is  not 
well  enough  standardized  to  offer  daily  an  acceptable 
noon  dinner.  The  remedy  for  this  condition  lies  in 
centralization  and  close  supervision  of  each  indi- 
vidual school. 

The  physical  condition  of  lunchrooms  is  good 
and  the  relations  between  concessionnaires  and  cus- 
todians are  cooperative  and  harmonious.  Principals 
and  teachers  are  interested  and  are  ready  to  cooper- 
ate in  any  plan  to  extend  and  improve  the  service. 
Lunchroom  patronage  varies  greatly  from  school  to 
school.  Where  children  are  thoroughly  satisfied  with 
the  service  lunch  wagons  do  a  comparatively  small 
business. 


High  School  Lunches  a  Big  Business 
The  school  lunch  division  should  reach  all  children; 
it  should  provide  wholesome  and  nutritious  food  for 
them  at  cost,  train  them  in  sane  habits  of  eating,  and 
teach  them  to  choose  wisely  what  food  they  buy. 
In  Cleveland  last  year  6,715  students  spent  $36,777 
at  school,  or  $5.44  apiece.  In  Philadelphia  the  same 
number  spent  $56,070,  or  $8.35  apiece.  Cleveland 
can  equal  this  record  and  increase  the  usefulness  of 
her  plant  by  consolidating  her  system,  and  including 
in  it  service  in  the  elementary  schools. 
236 


Consolidated  System  Recommended 
Administration  of  a  consolidated  system  requires  the 
service  of  a  highly  trained  and  experienced  dietitian 
who  will  be  able  to  centralize  all  buying  and  account- 
ing, organize  and  standardize  equipment,  service, 
labor,  wages,  and  food,  and  combine  old  methods  and 
originate  new  ones  for  the  conduct  of  the  service. 

Increased  expenditure  involved  in  reorganizing 
high  school  lunches  will  be  met  by  increased  profits 
from  lunchrooms  due  to  bigger  business  and  better 
management. 

Cleveland's  opportunity  to  do  significant  and  con- 
structive work  through  her  school  lunchrooms  is 
exceptional.  She  has  all  the  necessary  equipment,  but 
at  present  lacks  the  proper  organization  and  neces- 
sary enthusiasm.  One  competent  person  with  author- 
ity equal  to  the  responsibility  of  the  position  and  a 
vital  interest  in  the  work  could  make  Cleveland  a 
leader  in  this  field. 


INFANT  HYGIENE 

This  report  is  based  on  classroom  observations;  on 
discussions  with  teachers  and  nurses;  on  like  con- 
ferences with  the  supervisor  of  household  arts, 
the  director  of  medical  inspection,  and  the  head 
school  nurse,  as  well  as  with  other  persons  in  Cleve- 
land and  elsewhere,  whose  interests  and  work  lie  in 
the  field  of  pubUc  health  education. 


237 


Origin  of  Infant  Hygiene  Instruction 
Infant  hygiene  is  one  of  the  important  phases  of  the 
conservation  movement.  It  has  its  roots  in  the  early 
part  of  the  19th  century,  but  was  brought  into  promi- 
nence in  1912,  by  the  creation  at  Washington  of  a 
Federal  Children's  Bureau. 

The  1913  Cleveland  Child  Welfare  Exhibit  fo- 
cussed  attention  on  baby  saving.  This  resulted  in  a 
campaign  by  the  Babies'  Dispensary,  the  Visiting 
Nurses'  Association,  and  Uke  organizations.  One 
year  later  infant  hygiene  was  introduced  into  the 
public  schools.  In  April,  1915,  there  were  2,500 
eighth  grade  girls  receiving  a  regular  eight  lesson 
course  in  infant  hygiene. 

Arguments  for  Teaching  Infant  Hygiene  in 

Elementary  Schools 
The  arguments  which  put  infant  hygiene  in  the 
schools  are  briefly: 

1.  Thousands  of  babies  die  every  year  because 
mothers  do  not  take  proper  care  of  them. 

2.  Girls  at  school  can  be  taught  how  to  care  for 
babies. 

3.  It  costs  little  to  give  such  a  course. 

4.  Teaching  can  be  given  by  household  arts  teach- 
ers and  school  nurses  who  are  already  on  the  payroll. 

Infant  Hygiene  and  the  Work  It  Displaces 
The  survey  asks  the  questions:  Does  elementary 
school  teaching  further  this  work  to  the  extent  that 
its  advocates  believe?  Does  it  duplicate  work  which 
238 


may  better  be  carried  by  existing  organizations, 
such  as  milk  stations  and  babies'  dispensaries?  Does 
it  offer  either  in  an  immediate  value  to  the  girl,  or 
in  a  future  value  to  her  child,  returns  equal  to  or 
greater  than  those  of  the  work  which  it  displaces? 

The  costs  of  infant  hygiene  are  two-fold:  the 
money  cost  of  teaching  time,  and  the  loss  of  other 
work  in  foods  and  sanitation  and  medical  inspection 
displaced  by  infant  hygiene. 


Adult  Responsibility  and  the  Adolescent  Girl 
The  care  required  by  young  children  is  of  a  highly 
technical  kind.  It  is  too  difficult  for  girls  to  master, 
and  the  penalty  for  non-mastery  has  grave  conse- 
quences. Grammar  school  girls  should  no  more  be 
expected  to  carry  full  adult  responsibility  than  they 
are  to  do  full  adult  work.  Therefore  infant  hygiene 
should  be  taught  only  to  those  girls  who  must 
actually  be  responsible  for  the  care  of  little  babies. 


Hygiene  For  Boys  and  Girls  Alike 
In  advocating  that  the  teaching  of  infant  hygiene 
be  limited  to  those  girls  who  will  make  immediate 
use  of  such  training  the  writer  wishes  to  urge  the 
further  extension  of  hygiene  education,  which  should 
be  taught  to  boys  and  girls  alike. 

Such  a  course  involves  thoughtful  planning  and 
skilful  teaching.    If  nurses  are  to  help  teach  it  they 
should  be  trained  in  effective  methods  of  classroom 
239 


instruction.  Household  arts  teachers,  on  the  other 
hand,  need  not  only  skill  in  teaching  method,  but 
a  broad  and  suggestive  background  in  public  health 
matters.  Hygiene,  whether  taught  to  all  children  or 
only  a  few,  should  be  as  well  taught  as  any  other  sub- 
ject in  the  curriculum. 

Teaching  of  Infant  Hygiene  an  Emergency 
Measure 
From  time  to  time  society  is  forced  to  make  unfair 
demands  upon  individuals  or  classes  in  behalf  of  the 
group  as  a  whole.  Infant  hygiene  teaching  in  the 
elementary  school  is  based  on  one  of  those  demands. 
It  is  a  kind  of  class  education  given  to  girls  who  are 
obliged  to  carry  responsibility  beyond  their  age,  be- 
cause mothers  are  too  ignorant,  too  stupid,  or  too 
heavily  burdened  to  care  for  their  babies,  or  because 
mothers  are  dead  and  society  shortsightedly  sacri- 
fices one  child  in  the  interests  of  another.  Such  a 
program  is  justifiable  only  as  an  emergency  measure, 
but  it  cannot  be  justified  as  a  universal  program  of 
education. 

Conclusions  and  Recommendations 
1.  Household  arts  teaching  is  carried  on  in  20  regular 
and  seven  special  cooking  centers  in  the  regular  ele- 
mentary schools.  Each  center  cares  for  approxi- 
mately 300  children  per  week.  Cooking  is  taught  to 
all  girls  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  years.  In  general 
the  centers  are  well  equipped. 
240 


2.  The  work  is  in  charge  of  a  competent  and  skil- 
ful supervisor.  She  should  be  furnished  with  addi- 
tional clerical  assistance  which  would  enable  her  to 
spend  more  time  on  supervisory  duties  and  less  on 
clerical  work. 

3.  The  teachers  of  household  arts  are  well  trained 
and  underpaid. 

4.  The  survey  extensively  analyzes  the  spirit  and 
purpose  of  the  work  and  challenges  the  Cleveland 
assumption  that  housekeeping  and  homemaking  are 
synonymous. 

5.  The  teaching  of  household  arts  is  carried  on  in 
both  the  academic  and  the  technical  high  schools. 

6.  Generous  space  is  allotted  for  the  work  and 
equipment  is  excellent  and  kept  in  good  repair. 

7.  The  high  school  force  in  household  arts  numbers 
26.  In  general  the  teachers  are  well  equipped  and 
are  paid  much  more  adequately  than  those  in  the 
elementary  schools. 

8.  At  present  there  is  no  satisfactory  form  of  su- 
pervision for  household  arts  teaching  in  the  high 
schools.    This  lack  should  be  supplied. 

9.  The  survey  analyzes  the  purpose  and  status  of 
household  arts  in  the  high  school  course  and  con- 
cludes that  the  work  ought  in  greater  measure  to 
contribute  to  the  promotion  of  economic  indepen- 
dence, the  understanding  of  social  institutions,  and 
the  development  of  individual  personality. 

10.  Cleveland  is  far  in  advance  of  most  cities  in 
providing  lunches  served  under  sanitary  conditions 

16  241 


for  all  members  of  classes  for  blind,  crippled,  and 
open  air  children. 

11.  The  sm-vey  recommends  that  the  school  sys- 
tem take  over  the  organization  and  management  of 
the  elementary  lunches  and  make  their  service  avail- 
able for  all  children,  both  normal  and  exceptional. 

12  Lmiches  in  the  high  schools  are  run  by  conces- 
sionnaires.  The  efl&ciency  of  the  work  varies  widely 
in  the  different  buildings. 

13.  The  survey  recommends  that  the  system  take 
over  and  consohdate  the  administration  of  a  general 
lunch  system  under  the  direction  of  a  well-trained 
dietitian. 

14.  Courses  in  infant  hygiene  are  given  to  some 
2,500  eighth  grade  girls  in  the  elementary  schools. 
The  work  displaces  eight  weeks  of  teaching  about 
food  and  sanitation. 

15.  The  survey  questions  the  pedagogical  effi- 
ciency and  the  social  and  educational  value  of  this 
work  as  now  conducted. 


242 


CHAPTER  XII 

EDUCATION  THROUGH  RECREATION 

(George  E.  Johnson) 

No  principle  in  home  life  or  school  life  has  received 
more  universal  recognition  among  English-speaking 
people  than  that  expressed  in  the  old  saying,  "All 
work  and  no  play  makes  Jack  a  dull  boy."  Following 
the  example  of  the  earliest  school  systems  of  America, 
Cleveland  long  ago  made  provision  for  the  play  of  the 
pupils. 

Thus  physical  equipment  and  supervision  for 
recreation  have  been  more  definitely  and  systemati- 
cally included  in  the  plans  of  school  administration 
in  Cleveland  than  is  usual  elsewhere.  What  is  more, 
the  city  has  invested  large  sums  of  money  in  provid- 
ing recreational  facilities  for  the  pupils.  The  school 
yards  surpass  in  size,  equipment,  and  adaptability 
for  play  those  of  most  of  our  large  cities.  Forty-six 
of  the  school  buildings  have  two  playrooms  apiece, 
18  others  one  playroom;  44  have  gymnasiums;  seven 
have  space  prepared  for  swimming  pools,  two  of 
which  are  installed;  94  have  regular  auditoriums,  or 
else  use  the  lower  hall  for  auditorium  purposes,  the 
total  combined  seating  capacity  being  43,797;  and 
243 


25  of  the  school  yards  are  provided  with  playground 
equipment.  The  total  playground  area  is  4,716,997 
square  feet,  or  more  than  108  acres.  For  a  more 
detailed  statement  of  equipment,  see  Table  10. 


TABLE  10.— RECREATIONAL  FACILITIES  OF  THE  CLEVELAND 
SCHOOLS 


Pieces  of 

School 

Audi- 

Area of 
play- 

play- 
ground 

Play- 

Gym- 

Swim- 
ming 

torium 

ground 

appara- 
tus 

rooms 

nasium 

pool 

Addison 

yes 

21,250 

yes 

Alabama 

11.326 

Almira 

yes 

59.904 

2 

yes» 

BarkwUl 

yes 

27,431 

1 

yea 

Bolton 

yes 

56.520 

1 

Boulevard 

yes 

20,000 

2 

yes 

Boys' 

yes 

8,207 

yes 

Broadway 

yes» 

59,077 

12 

Brownell 

yes 

31.713 

21 

i 

yes 

yes 

Buhrer 

yes 

13,635 

12  b 

Case 

yes« 

34,262 

Case  Woodland 

yes 

46,211 

2 

Central 

yes 

30,300 

2 

yes 

yes* 

Charter  Oak 

14,869 

Chesterfield 

yes 

59,000 

2 

yes 

Clark 

yes 

29.715 

2 

Columbia 

yes 

46,907 

1 

yes 

Corlett 

59,000 

2 

Dawning 

yes 

65.400 

2 

yes 

Deaf 

yes 

24,000 

2 

Denison 

yes 

39.770 

Detroit 

yes 

34,065 

2 

Dike 

yes 

21,174 

yes 

Doan 

yes" 

41,721 

2 

Dunham 

25,564 

io 

Eagle 

yes 

19,600 

21 

2 

yes 

East  Boulevard 

yes 

36,300 

yes 

East  Denison 

yes 

40,700 

2 

yes 

East  Madison 

yes 

79,834 

17 

1 

Empire 

yes 

35,000 

yes 

yes* 

*  Swimming  pool  left  unfinished. 

*>  Playground  apparatus  not  installed  in  summer  of  1916. 

*  Lower  hall  used  as  auditorium. 

244 


TABLE  10.— (Continued) 


School 


Audi- 
torium 


Area  of 
play- 
ground 


Pieces  of 

play- 
ground 
appara- 
tus 

Play- 
rooms 

Gym- 
nasium 

i 

i 

12b 
12 

'2 

yes 

1 

yes 

2 

20 
16 

2 
2 

2 

14 

2 
i 

yes 

31  "• 

ISb 

'2 
2 
2 

yes 
yes 
yes 

2 

yes 

i2 
20 

2 
1 
4 

2 

'2 

yes 
yes 

2 

2 

yes 
yes 

'2 

'2 

2 

yes 

Swim- 
ming 
pool 


Fairmount 

Fowler 

Fruitland 

Fullerton 

Giddings 

Gilbert 

Gordon 

Halle 

Harmon 

Harvard 

Hazeldell 

Hicks 

Hodge 

Hough 

Huck 

Kennard 

Kentucky 

Kinsman 

Landon 

Lawn 

Lincoln 

Longwood 

Marion 

Mayflower 

Memorial 

Memphis 
Meyer 
Miles 
Miles  Park 
Milford 

Mill 

Moulton 

Mound 

Mt.  Pleasant 

Murray  Hill 

North  Doan 

Nottingham 

Oakland 

Orchard 

Outhwaite 


yes' 
yes 

yes ' 
yes' 

yes 

yes' 

yes 

yes 

yes 

yes 

yes' 

yes 


yes 

yes' 

yes 

yes 

yes 
yes 
yes 
yes 

yes 

yes 
yes ' 
yes 


yes 
yes 
yes 

yes 

yes 

yes 
yes 


29,840 
46,978 
70,648 
48,825 
38,768 

39,200 
32,786 
56,451 
26,186 
61,560 

23,800 
26,341 
46,000 
57,342 
32,311 

44,000 
17,836 
47,035 
44,065 
45,585 

32,209 
40,000 
26,815 
30,000 
80,000 

35.000 
16,492 
50,000 
81,437 
66,674 

34,970 
29,856 
42,463 
74,000 
26.600 

43,915 
35,000 
37.864 
35,805 
49,653 


•  Swimming  pool  left  unfinished. 

b  Playground  apparatus  not  installed  in  summer  of  1915. 

•  Lower  hall  used  as  auditorium. 

245 


TABLE  10.— (Continued) 


School 


Audi- 
torium 


Area  of 
play- 
ground 


Pieces  of 
play- 
ground 

appara- 
tus 

Play- 
rooms 

Gym- 
nasium 

2 
1 

12 

2 
2 

1 

yes 

12 
20'' 

2 
2 

ie*- 

2 
2 
1 

20'' 
17 

i2b 

2 
2 

yes 
yes 

17 

1 
1 
2 

2 

yes 

yes 

16'' 

1 
2 
1 
2 
2 

i 

yes 

yes 

Swim- 
ming 
pool 


Parkwood 

Pearl 

Prescott 

Qtiincy 

Rawlings 

Rice 

Rockwell 
Rosedale 
Sackett 
St.  Clair 

Scran  ton 
Sibley 
South  Case 
Sowinski 
Stanard 

Sterling 

Tod 

Tremont 

Union 

Wade 

Wade  Park 

Walton 

Warner 

Warren 

Waring 

Washington  Park 
Watte  rson 
Waverly 
Willard 
Willaon 

Woodland 
Woodland  Hills 
Wooldridge 


yes' 
yes 


yes 
yes 


yes' 
yes 
yes' 
yes 


yes 
yes 
yes* 


yes 

yes' 

yes 

yes 

yes 


yes 
yes ' 


yes" 
yes" 


22,200 
25,000 
16,966 
29,721 
36,600 

39,422 
19,945 
64,901 
72,813 
43.602 

27,213 
36,816 
34,408 
34,134 
31,628 

37,534 
38.057 
72.000 
25,468 
5t021 

62,958 
30,953 
50,600 
50,111 
34,612 

60.000 
10,542 
32.865 
17,000 
55,200 

42,241 
21.700 
39.580 


yes* 


HlQH  SCHOOUS 

Central 

yes 

75,858 

yes 

CoUinwood 

yes 

60.000 

yes 

Commercial 

yes 

31.500 

ye" 

East 

yes 

69.846 

yes 

East  Technical 

yes 

yes 

■  Swimming  pool  left  unfinished. 

*>  Playground  apparatus  not  installed  in  summer  of  1915. 

*  Lower  hall  uaed  as  auditorium. 

246 


TABLE  10.— (.Continued) 


Pieces  of 

Area  of 

play- 

Swim- 

School 

Audi- 

play- 

ground 

Play- 

Gym- 

ming 

torium 

ground 

appara- 
tus 

rooms 

nasium 

pool 

Glenville 

yes 

54,886 

yes 

Lincoln 

yes 

41,240 

yes 

Normal 

yes 

40,000 

yes 

South 

yes 

61,285 

yes 

West 

yes 

47,807 

yes 

West  Technical 

yes 

225.000  ■! 

12 

yes 

<*  Includes  West  Side  Athletic  Field. 


Organization  of  Recesses 
The  most  natural  and  historically  the  first  use  of  the 
recreational  facilities  in  the  schools  was  at  recess. 
Nominally,  15  minutes  during  each  morning  session 
is  allowed  for  recess  through  all  the  grades.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  morning  recess  is  often  omitted, 
or  regularly  done  away  with,  at  the  discretion  of  the 
principal.  The  afternoon  recess  of  former  genera- 
tions has  entirely  disappeared  from  the  upper  four 
grades  of  the  elementary  schools. 

The  recesses  should  not  be  omitted,  and  they 
should  be  organized.  This  does  not  imply  formality 
at  recess.  It  does  imply  study  and  organization  so 
that  the  recess  may  count  for  the  most  possible,  phy- 
sically and  socially.  More  "steam"  is  blown  off  in  a 
skilfully  organized  than  in  an  unorganized  recess, 
and  the  social  value  is  certainly  far  greater. 

Better  still,  groups  might  take  their  recesses  in 
rotation;  outdoors  in  pleasant  weather,  in  the  gym- 
247 


nasium  or  playroom  in  unpleasant  weather.  This 
would  increase  the  value  of  the  recess  and  might  be 
made  the  means  of  relieving  congestion.  To  some 
extent  this  has  already  been  done. 


Schoolroom  and  Indoor  Recreation 
In  the  first  four  grades,  periods  of  "rest  and  recrea- 
tion" are  given  several  times  daily.  These  play 
periods  do  not  come  at  regular  intervals,  but  at  the 
discretion  of  the  grade  teacher.  They  are  from  two 
to  five  minutes  in  length.  The  activities  of  these 
periods  are  exclusively  formal  games  a,s  distinguished 
from  plays,  such  as  climbing,  swinging,  tetering, 
playing  in  the  sand,  doll  play,  and  the  like.  Pri- 
marily the  purpose  of  these  periods  is  for  rest  and 
recreation,  but  the  games  are  chosen  with  some  re- 
gard for  their  correlation  with  school  subjects  and 
for  mental  development. 

Valuable  and  desirable  as  the  indoor  play  periods 
may  be,  they  are  not  a  complete  substitute  for  out- 
door play  during  the  school  session.  When  the  recre- 
ational activities  of  children  are  transferred  from  out- 
doors to  indoors  their  value  is  lessened  through : 

1.  Loss  of  fresh  air 

2.  Lack  of  sunshine 

3.  Restriction  of  space  and  full  freedom  of  activity 

4.  Diminished  pleasure 

5.  Narrowed  range  of  activities 

6.  Extreme  brevity  of  the  period 

7.  Dust  raised  by  the  running  and  jumping 

248 


Schoolroom  and  indoor  recreation  should,  so  far 
as  possible,  become  outdoor  recreation.  The  play 
periods  should  be  longer.  The  plays  and  games 
should  reflect  the  deep,  instinctive  interests  of  chil- 
dren of  the  ages  concerned.  They  should  perpetuate 
the  play  traditions  of  the  nation.  The  plays  and 
games  employed  should  not  be  devised  at  the  desk — 
manufactured  out  of  whole  cloth;  they  should  be 
the  growth  of  generations. 


Kindergartens  and  Lower  Grades 
There  should  be  a  relatively  larger  element  of  free 
play  in  the  kindergarten  and  lower  grades.  The 
waste  places,  between  wings  of  buildings  and  else- 
where, small  and  at  present  for  the  most  part  useless, 
should  be  thoughtfully  equipped  for  the  little  tots 
of  the  school.  With  a  slight  expenditure  these  desert 
places  can  be  made  to  blossom  as  the  rose  education- 
ally and  socially,  to  the  relief  of  congestion,  to  the 
aid  of  teachers,  and  to  the  immeasurable  benefit  of 
the  children. 


Playgrounds  Idle  Most  op  the  Year 
"Pupils  will  not  be  allowed  to  .  .  .  remain  on 
or  revisit  the  premises  after  dismissal  of  the  school, 
except  by  special  permission  of  the  principal  of  the 
building."  So  read  the  rules  of  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion. Whether  under  the  circumstances  this  is  a  wise 
rule  or  not,  it  suggests  disuse  of  the  school  play- 
249 


grounds,  and  generally,  though  happily  not  univer- 
sally, the  suggestion  is  taken  and  children  are  accus- 
tomed to  leaving  the  school  premises  out  of  their 
minds  in  their  hours  of  leisure,  and  to  substituting 
the  street,  the  vacant  lot,  the  back  yard,  and  the 
moving-picture  show  instead. 

Another  great  "unwelcome"  is  the  playground  ap- 
paratus entirely  denuded  during  the  school  year,  all 
except  the  bare  frames  being  put  away  in  storage. 
As  if  to  add  to  the  gloom  of  the  bare  appearance  of 
the  playground,  one  sees  the  worn  and  empty  sand- 
bins,  from  which  the  children,  as  one  principal  re- 
ported, had  "carried  away  the  remaining  sand  in  tin 
cans  and  pails  that  they  might  play  with  it  at  home." 
Unthinkable  as  "stripped  apparatus"  is  in  the  vaca- 
tion school  period,  it  is  really  more  pathetic  and  in- 
consistent in  term  time,  when  the  freedom  of  activity 
is  curtailed  and  there  is  even  greater  need  than  in 
vacation  time  to  invite  children  from  sedentary  to 
active  occupation. 

The  apparatus  should  be  taken  from  storage  and 
the  school  playgrounds  made  inviting  to  pupils  out 
of  school  hours.  This  will  necessitate  additional 
supervision,  which  should  be  provided. 

Many  Gymnasiums  Unequipped 
Twenty-jfive  out  of  31  gymnasiums  in  the  elementary 
schools  lack  equipment.  An  unequipped  gymnasium 
is  essentially  an  additional  playroom.  It  fails  in  the 
quality  which  is  supposed  to  distinguish  it.  It  is 
somewhat  like  a  house  without  furniture,  or  a  shop 
250 


without  machinery.  Data  are  lacking  as  to  exact  use 
made  of  the  gymnasiums,  but  so  far  as  available  they 
indicate  that  many  of  the  gymnasiums  are  compara- 
tively little  used.  It  was  not  until  several  members 
of  the  Survey  Staff  had  made  over  a  thousand  class- 
room visits,  covering  all  the  schools  of  the  city,  that 
they  found  one  gymnasium  being  used  for  gymnastic 
purposes. 

Swimming  Pools  Unfinished  or  Unused 
Swimming  is  perhaps  the  best  of  all  exercises  for 
bringing  the  fundamental  muscle  groups  into  exhila- 
rating and  vigorous  activity.  By  some  authorities 
it  is  claimed  to  be  the  most  quickly  recuperative  of 
all  sports. 

Cleveland  has  wonderful  natural  facilities  for 
swimming.  But  natural  facilities  alone  are  not  suffi- 
cient for  the  universal  acquirement  of  swimming, 
except  among  primitive  peoples.  The  Board  of 
Education  started  to  move  in  the  right  direction  and 
then  halted.  The  physical  structure  of  seven  or 
more  schools  provides  space  for  swimming  pools,  but 
in  only  two  instances  have  the  pools  been  completed 
and  put  in  actual  operation. 

The  swimming  pools  that  have  been  begun  should 
be  completed  and  both  swimming  pools  and  gymna- 
siums should  be  justified  by  the  use  made  of  them. 

Hardy  Games  in  the  Elementary  Grades 

Far  more  attention  should  be  paid  in  the  elementary 

grades  to  hardy,  organized  games.    There  both  num- 

251 


bers  and  needs  (even  the  adolescent  needs)  predomi- 
nate, as  compared  to  the  high  school.  In  Cleveland, 
schools  can  do  larger  service  with  plays  and  games  in 
the  grades  than  in  the  high  schools.  It  would  be 
better  to  turn  the  whole  corps  of  physical  training 
teachers  into  the  elementary  grades  and  neglect  the 
high  schools  than  to  practise  economy  so  unequally 
at  the  expense  of  the  grades  as  at  present.  The  whole 
system  of  play  and  recreation  for  the  grades  should 
be  revised  with  reference  to  educational  and  social 
aspects. 

The  Conduct  of  School  Recreation 
Supervising  officers,  teachers,  and  employees  con- 
cerned in  the  administration  of  recreation  in  the 
schools  include  practically  the  whole  public  school 
corps,  from  the  superintendent  to  the  custodians. 
The  organization  of  this  corps  for  the  conduct  of 
recreation  is,  naturally  enough,  rather  loose  and  in- 
definite, since  play  and  recreation  are  conducted 
more  or  less  independently  by  several  different  de- 
partments. While  the  duties  of  the  various  members 
of  the  corps  are  definite,  their  inter-relations  and 
responsibilities  to  one  another  are  not. 

The  diagram  on  page  253  shows  some  conflicting 
lines  of  the  relationship  and  some  duplications  of 
responsibilities. 

Some   reorganization   of   the   educational   corps 
should  take  place  with  a  view  to  efficient  administra- 
tion of  play  and  recreation  from  a  broad  educational 
252 


253 


and  social  standpoint.  This  would  lead  to  a  far 
greater  influence  of  the  school  upon  the  out-of-school 
life  of  the  community.  Through  lack  of  greater  in- 
fluence of  the  school  during  out-of-school  hours,  there 
is  a  great  social  leakage  for  which  the  city  must  pay. 


Recreational  Influence  of  Schools  Out  of 
School  Hours 
The  school  is  the  natural  and  logical  agency  for  the 
safeguarding  of  the  great  fundamental  interests  of 
children  and  youth.  Each  year  discloses  more  and 
more  clearly  that  the  school  is  the  one  institution  we 
have  yet  received  that  is  best  fitted  adequately  to 
conserve  these  interests  and  utilize  them  for  educa- 
tional and  social  progress.  Opportunities  that  came 
as  a  matter  of  course  to  children  a  generation  ago 
do  not  come  to  many  children  now  unless  they  are 
specifically  planned  for  by  some  agency  other  than 
the  home.  Met  wisely  by  the  community,  this  seem- 
ing handicap  may,  in  the  end,  result  in  a  great  and 
new-found  social  strength. 


Plat  and  Recreation  Distinguished 
Play  is  more  than  recreation.  If  its  educational  sig- 
nificance is  real  in  the  kindergarten  period,  it  is  real 
in  every  subsequent  stage  of  growth  and  develop- 
ment. Rightly  conceived,  play  is  a  most  efficient 
method  of  education  for  life,  for  work,  for  social 
254 


service.  The  fact  that  we  do  not  know  how  to  make 
full  use  of  play  in  education  need  not  and  should  not 
prevent  the  utilization  of  play,  to  the  full  extent  to 
which  we  are  prepared,  for  the  tremendous  social 
service  it  can  render. 


Organization  for  Education  Through 
Recreation 
In  the  Cleveland  school  system,  as  in  that  of  every 
large  progressive  city,  there  should  be: 

1.  An  officer  whose  entire  time  should  be  devoted 
to  giving  a  social  interpretation  to  educational  work 
and  an  educational  interpretation  to  social  work.  He 
should  know  the  general  fields  of  sociology  and  edu- 
cation, and  should  know  intimately  the  fields  of  play 
and  recreation.  He  should  be  to  the  social  functions 
of  the  school  what  the  director  is  to  the  business 
management  and  what  the  superintendent  of  in- 
struction is  to  the  academic  work.  He  should  or- 
ganize and  utilize  the  physical  properties  of  the  school 
and,  so  far  as  practicable,  the  existing  educational 
corps  for  the  directing  of  the  play  and  recreational 
interests  of  the  pupils  and  the  community  towards 
constructive  education  and  social  progress. 

2.  An  officer  whose  function  it  is  to  organize  and 
direct  especially  the  active  plays,  games,  sports,  pas- 
times, and  athletics  of  the  system.  He  should  have  a 
general  knowledge  of  the  social  and  educational 
aspects  of  play  and  recreation  and  a  technical  knowl- 
edge of  physical  training.    Cleveland  has  at  present 

265 


a  supervisor  of  physical  training  having  but  limited 
authority  in  the  elementary  schools,  and  almost  none 
in  the  high  schools. 

3.  An  officer  whose  function  it  is  to  supervise  the 
play  of  young  children  to  eight  or  nine  years  of  age. 
She  should  have  a  thorough  training  in  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  the  kindergarten  plus  the  general 
social  and  educational  background  of  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  play  and  recreation.  She  should  be  a 
part  of  the  Division  of  Physical  Education  and  not 
independent  of  it,  as  she  now  is  in  Cleveland. 

4.  Besides  the  officers  mentioned  above,  there 
should  be  one  who  is  trained  to  organize  and  direct 
the  almost  universal,  but  greatly  wasted  or  misused, 
dramatic  interests;  one  who  can  utiUze  similarly  the 
musical  interests  for  educational  and  social  progress; 
one  the  nature  and  nurturing  interests;  one  the  con- 
structive; one  the  sesthetic. 

These  great  lines  of  human  interest  and  endeavor 
are  replete  with  recreational  as  well  as  educational 
opportunity;  they  have  their  place  as  avocations 
quite  as  truly  as  vocations.  The  various  official 
functions  mentioned  might,  of  course,  be  delegated 
to  existing  officers,  and  sometimes  several  might  be 
combined  in  one  person.  But  educational  and  recre- 
ational problems  must  be  seen  from  each  of  these 
angles  by  some  one  who  feels  the  burden  of  respon- 
sibility. Education  needs  play,  and  play  needs  edu- 
cation. The  problem  of  adult  recreation  is  but  a 
phase  of  the  problem  of  the  play  of  children  and 
youth. 

256 


Conclusions  and  Recommendations 
1.  Cleveland  is  extraordinarily  well  equipped  in  plant 
and  teaching  force  for  the  conduct  and  administra- 
tion of  recreation  in  the  public  schools.     Many  of 
these  advantages,  however,  are  neglected. 

2.  The  recesses  should  not  be  omitted.  They 
should  be  organized. 

3.  School  room  and  indoor  recreation  should,  so 
far  as  possible,  become  outdoor  recreation.  The  play 
periods  should  be  longer. 

4.  There  should  be  a  relatively  larger  element  of 
free  play  in  the  kindergartens  and  lower  grades. 

5.  The  apparatus  should  be  taken  from  storage  and 
the  school  playgrounds  made  inviting  to  pupils  out 
of  school  hours. 

6.  The  swimming  pools  that  have  been  begun 
should  be  completed  and  the  existence  of  both  swim- 
ming pools  and  gymnasiums  should  be  justified  by 
the  use  made  of  them. 

7.  Far  more  attention  should  be  paid  in  the  ele- 
mentary grades  to  hardy  organized  games. 

8.  A  reorganization  of  the  educational  corps  should 
be  made  with  a  view  to  securing  efficient  administra- 
tion of  play  and  recreation  from  an  educational  and 
social  viewpoint. 


17  257 


CHAPTER  Xni 

EDUCATIONAL  EXTENSION 

(Clarence  A.  Perry) 

The  after-class  and  evening  utilization  of  the  Cleve- 
land school  edifices  has  taken,  during  recent  years, 
two  main  forms — (1)  regular  night-school  sessions 
under  the  direction  of  the  educational  department, 
and  (2)  lettings  to  various  clubs  and  organizations 
for  miscellaneous  gatherings,  entertainments,  and 
indoor  games  under  the  general  supervision  of  the 
business  department.  In  addition  to  these  there  are 
a  small  number  of  afifairs — entertainments,  dances, 
or  bazaars — gotten  up  either  by  or  for  the  pupils  of 
the  respective  schools.  Many  of  these  are  for  the 
purpose  of  raising  funds  for  some  kind  of  school 
furnishings  or  equipment.  The  board  rules  at  present 
permit  a  school  to  hold  only  two  admission-fee  enter- 
tainments a  year. 

In  1915  there  were  in  the  public  schools  of  the  city 
94  auditoriums  and  halls  with  a  total  combined  seat- 
ing capacity  of  43,797.  These  accommodations  are 
used  for  school  entertainments  and  for  the  meetings 
of  outside  educational,  civic,  and  recreational  or- 
ganizations. The  meetings  of  both  sorts  held  in  the 
assembly  halls  during  1914-15  were  719  in  number. 

268 


They  were  conducted  under  the  auspices  of  292  dif- 
ferent organizations  and  the  aggregate  attendance 
was  more  than  173,000.  About  40  per  cent  of  the 
meetings  were  held  in  the  afternoon  and  the  remain- 
ing 60  per  cent  in  the  evening.  There  was  only  one 
building  in  which  the  evening  meetings  occurred 
as  frequently  as  once  a  week.  The  average  probably 
was  only  five  per  building  for  the  entire  year. 

If  one  were  to  hazard  three  times  a  week  as  the 
frequency  with  which  citizens  might  well  be  expected 
to  resort  to  their  schoolhouses  after  supper  for  in- 
tellectual entertainment  and  the  discussion  of  their 
common  problems,  that  rate  of  use  carried  on  for 
38  weeks  in  the  94  auditoriums  would  amount  to 
11,716  occasions.  Whether  this  number,  or  one- 
third  of  it,  be  taken  as  the  measure  of  the  evening 
utihzation  which  should  be  made  of  Cleveland's 
school  halls  it  is  evident  that  the  1914-15  record  of 
432  occasions  leaves  ample  margin  for  a  considerable 
extension  of  use.  In  this  connection  it  is  to  be  noted 
that  the  auditoriums  represent  large  financial  out- 
lays amounting  in  the  case  of  the  newer  schools  to  as 
much  as  $20,000  apiece. 

Thirty-three  elementary  schools  and  10  high 
schools  have  gymnasiums  but  it  does  not  appear  from 
the  records  that  12  of  them  had  any  after-school  use 
during  1914^15.  The  reports  show  that  the  other  31 
gymnasiums  were  used  after  class  hours  1,975  times 
and  that  these  occasions  were  conducted  under  the 
auspices  of  197  different  organizations.  The  total 
attendance  was  nearly  97,000.  More  than  half  of 
259 


these  after-school  uses  were  confined  to  the  gymnasi- 
ums of  the  10  high  schools.  Of  the  1,975  occasions 
recorded,  322,  or  about  16  per  cent,  occurred  in  the 
afternoon  before  six  o'clock  and  1,653  took  place 
after  that  hour.  The  time  of  the  use  varies  greatly 
with  different  schools.  All  the  gymnasium  occasions 
recorded  for  the  Eagle  School  happened  during  the 
after-supper  period,  but  102  of  the  107  credited  to 
the  Warren  School  took  place  before  the  evening 
meal  hour  and  a  majority  of  those  at  the  Memphis 
School  also  happened  during  the  afternoon  period. 
Suppose  that  four  nights  a  week  be  taken  as  a  fair 
standard  of  use  for  a  public  school  gymnasium.  That 
frequency  of  use  in  33  gymnasiums  during  38  weeks 
would  give  5,168  occasions,  nearly  three  times  Cleve- 
land's recorded  utilization  for  1914-15.  If  there  is 
also  taken  into  consideration  how  inadequately  most 
of  the  schools  are  meeting  the  need  of  indoor  play 
opportunities  in  the  hours  just  before  supper,  it 
will  be  seen  that  there  is  plenty  of  room  for  a  further 
development  of  the  recreational  resources  of  the 
Cleveland  school  plants. 


By  Whom  Schools  Were  Used 
According  to  the  custodians'  reports  the  total 
after-class  lettings  of  school  accommodations  during 
1914-15  numbered  3,469.  Of  these,  462  were  for 
mothers'  club  meetings,  class  dances,  pupil  society 
meetings,  pay  entertainments,  bazaars,  or  some  other 
kind  of  purely  school  function  and  3,007  were  lettings 

260 


to  outside  organizations.  A  large  part  of  the  latter 
consisted  of  clubs  or  Sunday-school  classes  connected 
with  some  27  different  churches  which,  along  with 
two  dozen  or  more  specifically  named  athletic  so- 
cieties, sought  the  use  of  school  gymnasiums  and 
showers  for  basket-ball  and  similar  indoor  games. 
The  varied  character  of  the  bodies  which  hired  the 
auditoriums,  club  and  classrooms  can  best  be  dis- 
covered from  a  perusal  of  the  following  partial,  but 
representative,  list. 

Groups  Using  School  Accommodations 

Twentieth  Ward  Improvement  Association 

East  End  Chamber  of  Commerce 

East  End  Neighborhood  Club 

Women's  Suffrage  Political  League 

Spanish  War  Veterans 

Ladies'  Relief  Corps 

Knights  of  Pythias  Lodge 

Public  School  Association 

D.  A.  R.  Clubs 

G.  S.  R.  Post 

Garment  Workers'  Union 

Warner  Civic  Association 

Normal  Alumni 

Alumni  Club 

Sanitation  Club 

Social  Center  Club 

Teachers'  and  Mothers'  Club 

Civic  League 

Western  Reserve  Dental  Club 

Thespian  Dramatic  Club 

South  End  Choral  Society 

Mendelssohn  Choir 

261 


Boys'  Glee  Club 
Boy  Scouts 
Boy  Cadets 
Camp  Fire  Girls 
Y.  W.  C.  A. 
Mothers'  Club 
Anti-Fly  Campaign 
Boys'  Chef  Club 
Patrons'  Club 
Social  Club 
German  Club 
Latin  Club 
Syrian  Club 

In  the  majority  of  cases  these  groups  were  obliged 
to  pay  custodians'  fees  ranging  from  $.30  to  $5.00  an 
evening,  depending  on  the  size  of  the  quarters  used. 
That  fact  attests  the  genuineness  of  this  demand  and 
its  vigor  is  further  evidenced  by  the  rapid  growth  in 
volume  which,  as  shown  in  Table  11,  has  practically 
doubled  during  the  past  two  years. 

TABLE  11.— GROWTH  OF  AFTER-SCHOOL  USE  OF  SCHOOL  FA- 
CILITIES BY  NEIGHBORHOOD  ORGANIZATIONS 


1913-14 

1914-15 

Per  cent 
increase 

Organizationa  using  buildings 
Total  lettings 

Fees  paid  to  custodians  by  organi- 
zations 
Aggregate  attendance 

298 
1.932 

$1,729.91 
120,511 

596 
3,007 

$2,813.55 
276.263 

100 
56 

62 
129 

Cleveland's  Most  Intensively  Used  School 
An  impressive  object  lesson  as  to  the  great  educa- 
tional value  of  an  intelUgently  socialized  and  in- 

2a2 


tensively  utilized  educational  plan  is  furnished  by  the 
Eagle  School.  The  physical  facilities  of  the  building 
are  remarkable.  There  is  a  model  flat,  a  lunchroom, 
superior  shop  and  kitchen  facilities,  shower  room, 
gymnasium,  open  air  classrooms  and  a  spacious 
auditorium. 

These  splendid  accommodations  have  been  utilized 
by  the  Eagle  School  people  in  the  organization  of 
different  forms  of  educational  extension  that  have 
permeated  and  affected  the  entire  neighborhood. 
Beginnings  came  about  naturally  in  connection  with 
the  medical  inspection  work,  when  the  school  nurse 
visited  parents  to  explain  why  their  boy  needed  his 
adenoids  removed,  why  their  daughter  required 
glasses,  or  how  a  discharging  ear  should  be  treated. 
The  contact  further  broadened  by  occasions  which 
brought  mothers  and  fathers  to  the  school.  Do- 
mestic science  classes  were  opened  for  housewives 
and  the  manual  training  shop  was  thrown  open  to 
the  men. 

Mothers  were  invited  to  bring  their  daughters  to 
a  dancing  class  and  to  sit  and  crochet  in  the  library 
while  waiting  for  them.  The  gymnasium  and  game- 
room  were  thrown  open  to  the  children  of  parents 
who  could  attend  the  mothers'  club  or  the  citizen- 
ship class  only  if  there  was  some  place  where  their 
youngsters  could  be  left  in  the  meanwhile. 

Among  the  school's  organizations  is  one  known  as 

the  Sanitation  Club.   Any  boy  of  the  neighborhood 

who  has  reached  15  is  eligible  for  membership  and 

its  purpose  is  "to  keep  this  community  clean  and 

263 


sanitary  and  promote  the  physical,  mental,  and 
moral  advancement  of  its  residents."  The  club  meets 
weekly  at  7  p.  m.  in  the  school  building  and  there 
perfects  plans  for  carrying  on  its  work.  Through  its 
endeavors  a  vacant  lot  was  filled  in  and  made  into  a 
playground,  stables  have  been  cleaned  up,  and  in- 
sanitary shacks  have  been  razed. 

An  athletic  committee  arranges  basketball  games 
and  another  group  gets  up  social  affairs.  Chewing- 
gum,  tobacco,  and  profane  language  are  banned  by 
the  by-laws  and  infractions  are  penalized  by  the 
abrogation  of  gymnasium  and  other  desirable 
privileges. 

Among  other  features  of  the  evening  program  at 
the  Eagle  School  which  help  to  protect  the  after- 
supper  period — the  time  which  is  perhaps  most  filled 
with  pitfalls  for  the  unguided — may  be  mentioned 
a  boys'  brass  band,  a  boys'  chef  club,  a  girls*  club, 
a  dancing  class,  a  cooking  class,  and  several  other 
organizations  for  young  people. 


Plant  Well  Equipped  for  E^xtension  Work 
Few  cities  in  the  country  have  school  buildings  which 
are  more  generally  and  more  completely  adapted  to 
recreational,  cultural,  and  civic  uses  than  those  of 
Cleveland.  Of  the  114  pubhc  schools,  over  four- 
fifths  have  auditoriums,  nearly  one-third  possess 
gymnasiums,  while  about  one-half  have  one  or  more 
inside  playrooms.  If  placed  side  by  side,  these 
special  rooms  would  cover  10  acres  of  ground  and 
264 


they  have  cost  the  taxpayers  more  than  a  million 
dollars.  The  auditoriums  and  interior  halls  of  the 
elementary  schools,  all  fitted  with  electric  lights, 
have  seating  capacities  for  an  aggregate  of  about 
35,000  people.  About  four  out  of  five  of  the  Cleve- 
land schools  possess  large,  well-lighted  kindergarten 
rooms.  Some  30  of  the  schools  are  manual  training 
centers  and  have  equipments  for  shop  work  or  cook- 
ing and  sewing,  and  in  most  cases  for  both. 


Past  Administration  of  Extension  Work 
The  rules  of  the  Board  place  upon  the  director  of 
schools  the  control  of  all  uses  of  buildings  for  other 
than  "the  regular  school  work."  Besides  permitting 
teachers  and  pupils  to  hold  after-class  occasions  per- 
taining to  school  interests  the  director  is  empowered 
to  grant  the  use  of  school  quarters  to  mothers'  clubs, 
improvement  leagues,  gymnasium  classes,  patriotic 
clubs  or  similar  groups  for  gatherings  which  "are 
helpful  to  the  intellectual,  physical,  and  moral  wel- 
fare of  the  pupils  and  patrons  of  the  various  dis- 
tricts," provided  such  use  does  not  interfere  with  the 
regular  school  activities.  For  working  out  matters 
of  policy  and  a  kind  of  general  supervision  of  after- 
school  occasions  the  director  has  had  the  assistance 
of  the  head  of  the  Division  of  Medical  Inspection 
and  Physical  Education.  The  routine  handUng  of 
the  vast  number  of  applications  for  the  meeting- 
place  and  play  privileges,  the  verification  of  the  resi- 
dence qualifications  and  general  responsibility  of 
265 


the  five  citizens  who  join  in  the  petition,  the  scrutiny 
of  the  purposes  of  the  meeting,  the  prevention  of  con- 
flicts between  the  uses  of  the  outside  organizations 
and  the  local  school  staffs,  and  all  the  telephoning 
and  office  interviews  which  are  incidental  to  the 
letting  procedure — this  work  has  fallen  upon  the 
director's  secretary  and  other  members  of  his  reg- 
ular office  staff.  Despite  the  notable  efficiency  of  the 
director's  organization,  this  extra  work  has  produced 
a  burden  it  was  not  designed  to  bear. 

During  the  last  two  years  a  compromise  policy 
has  been  followed.  The  public  has  been  allowed  to 
come  into  school  buildings,  but  no  organization  has 
been  provided  to  care  for  them  after  they  got  in. 
Administrative  strain  and  friction  have  been  at- 
tendant upon  this  practice  and  the  annoyances 
generally  resulting  from  the  maintenance  of  a  pas- 
sive attitude  toward  a  strong  popular  demand  have 
been  experienced.  Therefore,  on  November  15,  1915, 
the  Cleveland  board  created  the  Division  of  School 
Extension,  whose  function  it  is  to  administer  the 
evening  use  of  school  buildings  for  all  purposes  other 
than  night  schools. 

The  New  Division  of  School  Extension 
The  resolution  creating  the  Division  of  School  Ex- 
tension authorizes  the  director  of  schools  to  ap- 
point a  supervisor  of  community  centers,  a  clerk, 
and  a  number  of  supervisors  and  assistant  super- 
visors of  individual  and  special  activities. 
The  board  assumes  responsibility  for  the  heat, 
266 


light,  janitor  service,  and  supervision  at  these  16 
centers,  but  in  heu  of  the  custodian's  fees,  which 
were  formerly  exacted  from  the  clubs  to  which  facili- 
ties were  let,  individual  fees  to  the  amount  of  25 
cents  a  month  will  be  collected  from  all  persons  who 
regularly  avail  themselves  of  the  privileges  of  the 
center.  These  provisions  apply  to  the  use  of  gym- 
nasiums, manual  training  shops,  domestic  science 
and  club  rooms,  and  swimming  pools  in  the  selected 
schools.  The  auditoriums  in  these  centers  are  made 
available  for  neighborhood  meetings  on  the  nights 
when  the  building  is  open  without  cost  to  the  users. 
The  assembly  room  of  any  other  school  building  may 
also  be  let  for  a  community  gathering  upon  the  re- 
quest of  five  citizens  who  are  willing  to  pay  the  cus- 
todian's fee  of  $2.50  and  assume  responsibility  for 
the  supervision  of  the  meeting  and  any  damage 
which  may  happen  to  school  property. 

The  fundamental  significance  of  the  new  division, 
however,  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  marks  the  adoption, 
on  the  part  of  the  board,  of  an  active  and  construc- 
tive policy  in  an  important  field  of  education  and 
establishes  the  nucleus  of  what  is  destined  to  be  a 
development  of  greater  and  greater  magnitude.  The 
two  needs,  more  centers  and  more  workers  without 
a  proportionate  increase  of  expenditure,  are  going  to 
lead  the  Division  of  School  Extension  to  adopt  as  a 
part  of  its  plan,  if  the  experience  of  New  York  and 
other  cities  is  a  trustworthy  guide,  the  formation  of 
a  local  neighborhood  association  at  each  center. 

If  the  experience  of  other  systems  holds  true  in 
267 


Cleveland  there  will  be,  as  time  goes  on,  an  increasing 
effort  to  introduce  different  varieties  of  cultural  op- 
portunities along  with  the  athletics  and  games.  As 
the  local  directors  search  for  means  of  putting 
changes  of  this  character  into  effect  it  is  inevitable 
that  they  will  develop  the  club  or  group  method 
which  simply  means  the  endeavor  to  bring  groups 
together  in  the  center  on  the  same  basis  as  any  nor- 
mal social  life,  that  is,  in  some  form  of  congeniality. 

There  is  every  reason  for  believing  that  the  Divi- 
sion of  School  Extension  will  also  be  able  to  utilize 
the  vast  resources  of  leadership  that  exist  among 
Cleveland's  public-spirited  citizens.  As  the  list  of 
the  organizations  making  use  of  school  facilities  has 
shown,  the  city  is  full  of  groups  of  young  people  al- 
ready organized  on  a  club  basis. 

In  connection  with  the  letting  of  school  audi- 
toriums for  community  gatherings  there  are  likely 
to  occur  now  and  then  discussions  which  will  provoke 
public  criticism.  Some  people  will  feel  that  another 
class  of  people  is  promoting  abhorrent  doctrines 
through  the  use  of  commonly  owned  and  supported 
public  buildings.  The  right  way  of  satisfying  public 
interest  in  controversial  questions  is  to  make  them 
the  subjects  of  fair,  able,  and  dignified  discussions 
at  the  community  center,  and  to  supply  information 
upon  them  by  means  of  lectures  and  illustrated  talks. 

Experience  will  eventually  show  the  wisdom  of 
transferring  the  Division  of  School  Extension  from 
the  business  department  to  the  educational  de- 
partment. While  the  former  is  well  organized  and 
268 


unusually  efficient,  its  standpoint  is  necessarily  that 
of  the  custodian  and  preserver  of  school  property. 
By  its  nature  it  is  not  designed  to  promote  an  organ- 
ization whose  main  purpose  must  be  not  merely  the 
utilization  of  school  facilities  but  their  utilization 
for  educational  and  social  ends.  While  the  business 
Department  will  undoubtedly  maintain  an  active 
and  expert  organization  the  Division  will  not  be  in  a 
position  to  attain  its  full  normal  development  until 
it  is  regarded  as  an  educational  enterprise  and  placed 
under  its  natural  control.  It  will  be  found  advisable 
also  to  extend  the  work  of  the  Division  of  School  Ex- 
tension to  cover  that  of  the  evening  school.  These 
two  activities  are  now  handled  by  the  same  bureau 
in  a  number  of  cities  and  the  results  seem  to  favor 
the  combination. 

Internal  Reasons  for  this  New  Development 
Educational  extension  is  in  keeping  with  the  princi- 
ple of  efficiency  already  well  exemplified  in  the  medi- 
cal inspection  surveys  of  Cleveland,  the  open  air 
classes  and  the  school  lunches  which  reflect  society's 
demand  that  an  increasing  percentage  of  the  school's 
product  in  the  form  of  future  citizens  shall  arrive 
at  its  destination  in  good  condition. 

This  principle  translated  into  practice  calls  for 
three  new  lines  of  educational  endeavor:  (1)  mea- 
sures designed  to  overcome  so  far  as  possible  those 
influences  of  the  home  and  street  upon  the  pupil's 
character;  (2)  steps  of  a  nature  to  extend,  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  high  and  evening  schools,  the  city's 
269 


care  over  its  future  citizens  through  the  adolescent 
years  to  the  period  of  adulthood;  (3)  the  means  of 
a  greater  closeness  of  contact  between  themselves 
and  the  public,  so  that  their  purposes  might  be  more 
widely  and  sympathetically  understood,  with  the 
hope  that  thereby  the  money  for  new  service  would 
be  forthcoming. 

If  during  any  of  the  turns  of  adolescence  the  boy 
escapes  from  the  influence  of  the  school  or  comes 
under  other  influences  which  neutralize  or  con- 
taminate, the  main  purpose  of  the  school's  activities 
will  have  been  defeated.  A  youth  does  not  vote  or 
fill  office.  He  has  no  civic  status  except  that  of  a 
ward  of  the  state.  It  is  important  that  he  be  orderly 
in  his  pubUc  behavior,  and  the  processes  of  elemen- 
tary education  do  undoubtedly  contribute  to  that 
end,  but  their  great  fruitage  cannot,  in  the  nature  of 
the  case,  appear  until  he  arrives  at  the  years  of  citi- 
zenship. The  school  may  have  given  a  lad  an  ex- 
cellent theoretical  training  in  civics  and  in  the  habits 
of  industry,  but  if  he  reach  his  majority — twenty- 
one — a  drunkard  and  a  gambler,  its  labor  will  have 
been  in  vain.  It  is  to  obviate  such  social  wastage 
that  Cleveland  is  extending  its  educational  over- 
sight to  the  end  that  contact  with  its  youth  shall 
not  be  broken  too  early. 

Conclusions  and  Recommendations 
1.  The  Cleveland  school  plant  is  well  equipped  for 
a  wider  use. 
2.  The  actual  after-class  use  of  Cleveland  school 
270 


facilities  leaves  a  considerable  margin  for  further 
utilization. 

3.  The  variety  and  number  of  the  clubs  and  organ- 
izations to  which  school  facilities  were  let  last  year 
are  evidence  of  a  strong  public  demand  for  such 
privileges. 

4.  The  miscellaneous  evening  occasions  have  im- 
posed an  undue  strain  upon  the  school  organization. 

5.  The  new  Division  of  School  Extension  will  grow 
through  the  natural  effort  to  overcome  administrative 
difficulties  and  to  satisfy  increasing  public  demands. 

6.  Local  neighborhood  associations  should  in  due 
course  be  organized  to  help  in  the  support  and  direc- 
tion of  community  centers. 

7.  The  organization  and  development  of  clubs  in 
community  center  work  should  be  initiated  and  en- 
couraged. 

8.  Organizing  public  meetings  in  the  schoolhouse 
is  the  best  way  of  overcoming  the  friction  sometimes 
generated  by  discussions  held  under  the  auspices  of 
outside  groups. 

9.  The  administrative  control  of  the  Division  of 
School  Extension  ought  to  be  transferred  from  the 
business  department  to  the  educational  department. 

10.  The  school  forum  offers  the  educational  au- 
thorities a  needed  point  of  contact  with  parents  and 
citizens. 

11.  Offering  young  people  activities  that  reveal 
and  develop  ability  while  at  the  same  time  satisfying 
the  instinct  for  play  is  an  effective  method  whereby 
public  education  is  now  extending  its  oversight 
through  the  teen-age. 

271 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  SCHOOL  AND  THE  IMMIGRANT 

(Herbert  Adolphus  Miller) 

Cleveland  is  one  of  the  most  foreign  cities  in  the 
United  States.  Of  the  50  cities  having  a  population 
of  over  100,000  inhabitants  at  the  time  of  the  last 
census,  only  seven  contained  a  larger  proportion  of 
foreign  inhabitants.  Cleveland's  foreign  population 
would  constitute  by  itself  a  city  larger  than  any  other 
in  the  state  of  Ohio  except  Cincinnati,  and  equalled 
or  smpassed  in  size  by  only  28  other  cities  in  the  en- 
tire country. 


A  Large  Proportion  Cannot  Speak  English 
Without  going  into  a  detailed  study  of  the  social  and 
educational  characteristics  of  the  old  and  the  new 
immigration,  we  may  take  up  briefly  two  points  of 
peculiar  significance  from  the  standpoint  of  public 
education.  The  first  relates  to  the  abiUty  to  speak 
English.  The  successful  assimilation  of  the  immi- 
grant, his  adaptation  to  American  customs  and  ways 
of  thought,  and  to  a  marked  degree  his  economic  and 
social  status,  depend  on  his  ability  to  read  and  speak 
the  English  language.  Nearly  every  disadvantage 
272 


under  which  he  labors  during  his  first  years  in  this 
country  can  be  traced  in  the  last  analysis  to  igno- 
rance of  English. 

Cleveland's  foreign  population  is  becoming  in- 
creasingly foreign  from  the  standpoint  of  ability  to 
read,  write,  speak,  and  understand  the  English  lan- 
guage. In  1900  less  than  one-fifth  of  the  foreigners 
in  the  city  10  years  old  and  over  were  unable  to  speak 
English;  in  1910  the  proportion  of  non-English- 
speaking  foreigners  had  risen  to  nearly  one-third  of 
the  total. 


Fewer  Become  American  Citizens 
There  are  at  the  present  time  between  60,000  and 
65,000  men  in  Cleveland  who  are  not  citizens  of  the 
United  States.  Of  every  100  men  of  voting  age  in 
1910,  approximately  30  possessed  no  political  rights 
or  interests  in  this  country  and  owed  no  allegiance  to 
the  government  of  the  United  States.  In  recent  years 
there  has  been  a  marked  change  for  the  worse  in  this 
respect  throughout  the  entire  country,  but  in  few  of 
the  larger  cities  has  the  downward  trend  been  more 
pronounced  than  in  Cleveland. 

The  present  standing  of  the  city  in  this  particular 
is  less  disquieting  than  the  marked  retrogressive 
trend  the  data  reveal.  The  fact  that  the  social  and 
political  assimilation  of  the  great  mass  of  aliens  in 
the  city  is  proceeding  at  a  steadily  decreasing  pace 
is  of  the  gravest  import  in  its  relation  to  the  future 
welfare  of  the  city. 

18  273 


School  Children  from  Non-English-Speaking 

Homes 
In  the  course  of  the  survey  an  investigation  was 
made  to  determine  the  number  of  children  enrolled 
in  the  public  school  who  were  from  homes  in  which 
English  is  not  regularly  spoken.  Each  child  in  the 
schools  above  the  kindergarten  age  was  asked  to  fill 
out  a  blank  containing  two  questions:  first,  "What 
is  the  language  of  your  home?"  and  second,  "What 
language  besides  English  can  you  read?" 

The  data  were  collected  from  all  schools  on  a  single 
day,  and  the  totals  represent  the  attendance  for  that 
day,  not  the  entire  number  enrolled  in  the  schools. 
In  all,  repUes  were  obtained  from  75,046  children  in 
the  elementary  schools,  and  from  9,088  attending  the 
high  schools.  Almost  exactly  one-half  of  the  children 
in  the  elementary  schools  came  from  homes  in  which 
English  is  not  regularly  spoken.  The  distribution  is 
shown  in  detail  in  Table  12. 


Foreign  Language  Teaching  in  Parochial 
Schools 
Data  relating  to  private  schools  were  secured  only 
from  those  supported  by  the  Lutherans  and  the 
Roman  Catholics.  The  Lutherans  have  15  schools, 
of  which  one  is  Slovak  and  the  rest  German.  The 
Slovak  school,  enrolling  359  pupils,  comprises  but 
three  grades,  although  it  is  proposed  to  open  addi- 
tional grades  as  soon  as  capable  teachers  for  them  can 
be  secured.  Eleven  of  the  14  German  schools  re- 
274 


TABLE  12.— LANGUAGES  SPOKEN  IN  HOMES  OF  PUPILS  IN  THE 
PUBLIC  SCHOOLS,  CLEVELAND,  1915 


Language 

Elementary 

High 

Total 

English 

37,454 

6,325 

43,779 

German 

8,118 

1.093 

9,211 

Yiddish 

6,219 

576 

6,795 

Bohemian 

5,325 

374 

5.699 

Italian 

4,493 

108 

4.601 

Hungarian 

3.686 

102 

3.788 

Polish 

3,523 

113 

3,636 

Slovak 

1,558 

40 

1,598 

Slovenian 

1,217 

22 

1,239 

Russian 

913 

44 

957 

Hebrew 

656 

120 

776 

Swedish 

328 

40 

368 

Croatian 

218 

218 

Dutch 

173 

"9 

182 

Roumanian 

151 

8 

159 

Lithuanian 

147 

1 

148 

Syrian 

140 

2 

142 

Finnish 

103 

6 

109 

Welsh 

80 

26 

106 

French 

79 

12 

91 

Norse 

59 

8 

67 

Greek 

56 

1 

57 

Danish 

55 

9 

64 

Ruthenian 

43 

43 

Albanian 

40 

"2 

42 

Serbian 

30 

1 

31 

Armenian 

27 

27 

Bulgarian 

17 

17 

Chinese 

15 

"2 

17 

Spanish 

12 

5 

17 

Other  foreign  languages 

111 

23 

134 

Total 

75,046 

9,088 

84,134 

ported  an  attendance  of  2,074  in  all.  The  three  from 
which  data  were  not  secured  are  small  schools,  but 
it  is  doubtless  well  within  the  actual  figures  to  put 
the  total,  in  round  numbers,  at  2,500. 

It  was  somewhat  more  difficult  to  secure  informa- 
tion from  the  Catholic  schools,  but  the  figures  here 
275 


presented  are  approximately  correct,  although  in 
many  cases  they  are  probably  too  low.  Of  the  52 
parochial  schools  from  which  data  were  obtained,  30 
may  be  classed  as  foreign  language  schools.  Table 
13  shows  the  number  of  children  enrolled  in  the  for- 
eign language  Catholic  schools.  The  total  enroll- 
ment in  the  Catholic  schools  is  slightly  over  28,000, 
so  that  the  proportion  of  foreign-language-speaking 
children  is  nearly  60  per  cent.  This,  including  the 
2,859  children  in  the  German  and  Slovak  Lutheran 
schools,  gives  a  total  of  at  least  20,000  foreign-lan- 
guage-speaking children  in  the  parochial  schools. 
Adding  this  number  to  the  enrollment  in  the  public 
schools  gives  a  grand  total  of  approximately  57,325 
children  from  foreign-language-speaking  homes. 
Those  from  English-speaking-homes  enrolled  in 
both  public  and  parochial  schools  number  approxi- 
mately 50,000. 


TABLE  13.— NUMBER  OF  PUPILS  STUDYING  THE  DIFFERENT 
FOREIGN  LANGUAGES  IN  THE  CATHOLIC  SCHOOLS.  CLEVE- 
LAND, 1915 


Language 

Number  of 
sehools 

Pupila 
enrolled 

Polish 

German 

Bohemian 

Slovak 

Slovenian 

Hungarian 

Croatian 

Lithuanian 

6 

7 
6 
8 
3 

2 

1 
1 

4,170 
3,977 
2.850 
2,377 
1,846 

1,300 
352 
260 

ToUl 

30 

17,172 

276 


Wide  Variation  in  Different  Schools 
Children  from  foreign-speaking-language  homes  are 
found  in  every  public  school  in  Cleveland.  Doan 
School,  with  four  German  children,  three  Swedes  and 
one  Russian  among  795  pupils  enrolled,  is  the  least 
foreign,  and  Murray  Hill,  with  1,171  Italians,  five 
Albanians  (who  also  speak  Italian),  and  one  German 
in  an  enrollment  of  1,348,  is  the  most  homogeneously 
foreign  of  the  elementary  schools.  Both  the  percen- 
tage of  foreign  pupils  and  their  distribution  by  na- 
tionality and  language  vary  widely  among  the  differ- 
ent schools,  so  that  the  relation  of  racial  and  lin- 
guistic characteristics  to  teaching  methods  and  school 
management  becomes  a  separate  problem  for  each 
school. 

Efforts  of  National  Groups  to  Preserve  Their 

Languages 
Each  national  group  expresses  its  group  conscious- 
ness in  varying  degrees  of  effort  to  preserve  its  lan- 
guage by  providing  more  or  less  adequate  instruction 
for  the  children  in  the  mother  tongue.  Generally 
there  are  very  strong  traditional  and  historical  rea- 
sons for  devotion  to  the  language.  Often  the  immi- 
grant comes  from  countries  where  attempts  have 
been  made  to  substitute  the  language  of  foreign  rulers 
for  the  mother  tongue  with  the  result  that  the  preser- 
vation of  the  language  has  become  a  matter  of  pa- 
triotism. 

It  has  been  shown  that  a  very  large  proportion  of 
277 


the  inhabitants  of  Cleveland  possess  a  reading  and 
speaking  knowledge  of  some  language  other  than 
English  and  that  more  than  one-half  of  the  children 
in  the  pubhc  schools  speak,  and  more  than  one-third 
read,  some  other  foreign  language.  The  economic 
and  social  value  of  this  knowledge  cannot  be  denied, 
and  in  every  case,  excepting  that  of  German,  it  has 
been  obtained  absolutely  without  cost  to  the  school 
system.  The  possibiUty  of  conserving  this  economic 
and  cultural  asset  should  not  be  lost  to  sight,  even 
though  we  recognize  that  the  main  duty  of  the  school 
is  to  give  the  child  a  thorough  English  education. 


Teacher  Should  Know  Characteristics  op 
National  Groups 
A  teacher  should  know  something  of  the  social  life 
to  be  found  within  the  various  immigrant  groups, 
both  in  order  that  she  may  understand  her  pupils 
better  and  that  she  may  be  able  to  use  these  social 
forces  to  the  advantage  of  the  school  and  the  com- 
munity. In  addition  she  ought  to  know  something 
of  the  history  of  the  region  from  which  her  pupils  or 
their  parents  have  come.  If  she  knows  even  a  few 
words  of  their  language,  it  might  prove  of  inestimable 
value  in  estabUshing  a  sympathetic  relationship  be- 
tween the  teachers  and  the  children,  but  more  espe- 
cially between  the  parents  and  the  school.  A  knowl- 
edge of  the  geography  of  the  child's  native  land  would 
be  an  asset  to  teacher  and  principal. 
278 


The  Problem  of  Education  for  the  Foreign 

Children 
The  problem  of  educating  children  of  recent  foreign 
origin  divides  itself  into  two  major  phases  and  almost 
innumerable  minor  ones.  The  two  main  divisions  of 
the  problem  have  to  do  respectively  with  education 
for  the  recently  arrived  non-English-speaking  chil- 
dren, and  with  the  far  greater  number  of  children 
scattered  throughout  the  school  system  who  come 
from  homes  where  English  is  not  spoken  but  who 
have  themselves  acquired  some  familiarity  with 
American  customs  and  standards. 

Steamer  Classes 
Fifteen  years  ago,  in  1901,  the  Cleveland  school  sys- 
tem first  recognized  the  necessity  of  making  special 
provision  for  teaching  English  to  recently  arrived 
immigrant  children.  In  that  year  the  principal  of 
Harmon  School  organized  the  first  class  for  non- 
English-speaking  children  and  termed  it  a  "Steamer 
Class"  because  it  was  made  up  of  pupils  who  had 
come  to  Cleveland  directly  from  the  steamer  which 
brought  them  to  this  country. 

Under  the  present  arrangements  steamer  classes 
are  organized  in  the  schools  that  regularly  receive 
large  numbers  of  new  immigrants.  Here  they  meet 
an  important  need,  but  they  do  not  help  the  pupil 
whose  parents  have  found  a  place  to  five  a  Kttle 
removed  from  other  recent  arrivals  and  so  have 
sent  their  children  to  a  school  where  there  are  not 
279 


enough  foreign  children  in  attendance  to  warrant  the 
establishment  of  special  classes.  This  is  one  of  the 
problems  which  the  school  system  has  never  satis- 
factorily solved. 

In  general  the  steamer  classes  are  valuable  and 
fairly  effective.  Provisions  should  be  made  for  trans- 
ferring non-EngUsh-speaking  children  to  them  when 
such  children  enroll  in  schools  where  steamer  classes 
have  not  been  organized.  The  work  could  be  ren- 
dered much  more  effective  by  adopting  methods  of 
EngUsh  teaching  such  as  have  been  developed  in 
New  York  and  Boston,  or  the  superior  methods  in  use 
in  Porto  Rico  and  the  PhiUppine  Islands. 

Enqlish-Speaking  Children  prom  Non-English- 
Speaking  Homes 
It  has  already  been  shown  that  more  than  half  of  the 
children  in  the  schools  of  Cleveland  come  from  non- 
EngUsh-speaking  homes.  A  study  of  the  figures 
showing  how  these  children  are  distributed  through 
the  different  grades  and  among  the  various  schools 
leads  to  the  conclusion  that  the  only  uniform  condi- 
tion permeating  the  entire  situation  is  the  universal 
heterogeneity  of  the  school  population.  There  are 
very  few  schools  indeed  having  anything  approaching 
a  homogeneous  student  body.  In  every  school  there 
are  children  from  non-English-speaking  families,  and 
in  most  of  them  these  children  are  divided  among  a 
large  number  of  nationalities.  Moreover,  some 
schools  have  large  numbers  of  foreign  children  in  the 
280 


upper  grades,  while  in  others  they  are  mainly  in  the 
lower  ones.  In  some  schools  one  nationality  pre- 
dominates among  the  older  children  and  another 
among  the  younger  ones.  The  school  population  is  a 
synthesis  of  the  most  varied  elements.  Table  14  is 
introduced  to  show  the  numbers  of  children  of  the 
more  important  nationality  groups  in  the  different 
schools  from  which  data  were  gathered  by  the  survey. 
A  study  of  Table  14  reveals  conditions  that  are  not 
only  interesting,  but  constitute  a  very  puzzling  edu- 
cational problem.  The  data  were  gathered  from  98 
elementary  schools.  In  a  majority  of  cases  the  chil- 
dren from  non-EngUsh-speaking  homes  outnumber 
those  from  English-speaking  homes.  It  would  thus 
seem  on  first  consideration  that  it  would  be  a  com- 
paratively simple  matter  to  modify  the  instruction 
given  in  each  school  so  as  to  meet  most  adequately 
the  needs  of  the  pupils.  In  point  of  fact,  this  is  ren- 
dered exceedingly  difficult  by  the  complex  character 
of  the  group  from  non-EngUsh-speaking  homes. 

In  the  city  as  a  whole  the  only  homogeneous  ele- 
ment in  the  different  school  populations  is  the  group 
of  children  from  Enghsh-speaking  homes.  They  do 
not  constitute  a  majority  of  all  the  children,  but,  ex- 
cept in  a  few  cases,  they  constitute  a  larger  group 
than  any  other  single  group.  In  the  entire  city  there 
are  26  schools  in  which  there  is  a  group  of  one  na- 
tionality outnumbering  the  children  from  English- 
speaking  homes,  but  in  most  cases  these  children  do 
not  constitute  a  majority  of  the  children  enrolled  in 
the  school. 

281 


TABLE  14.— CHILDREN  IN  LEADING  NATIONALITY  GROUPS  IN 

EACH  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOL  ON  BASIS  OF  THE  LANGUAGE  OF 

THE  HOME 


School 

1 

s 

24 
65 
15 

82 
84 

"6 
"8 

a 

a 

1 

1 

359 

45 

39 

a 

"2 
"2 

n 

7 
3 

■3 

27 

J) 

1 

•3 

GO 

1 

Addison 

Alabama 

BarkwUl 

Bolton 

Boulevard 

508 
42 
139 
910 
361 

'94 
10 

■3 

"2 
"  I 

14 

7 
91 

60 
9 

647 
306 
523 
1.111 
537 

Broadway 

Brownell 

Buhrer 

Case 

Case-Woodland 

436 
248 
491 
220 
100 

33 

11 

110 

252 

39 

"  8 
448 

15 

1 
3 

132 

2 

650 

10 

3 
15 

3 

1 

5 

20 

47 

258 

1 

3 

44 

10 

"  6 

7 

46 

24 

68 

38 

9 

165 

22 

815 
964 
638 
750 
837 

Centra 

Chesterfield 

Clark 

Columbia 

Corlett 

363 

438 

342 

1.043 

93 

27 

9 

162 

28 
9 

440 

io 

"2 
198 

i'91 

5 
12 

"5 
5 

16 

22 

2 

14 

3 
"12 

'20 

"a 

29 
1 
6 
6 

883 
462 
750 
1,094 
330 

Dawning 

Deniaon 

Detroit 

Dike 

Doan 

318 
895 
508 
277 
787 

368 

85 

85 

58 

4 

"  1 
659 

81 

11 

3 

3 

7 
6 
12 

37 

2 

28 

15 

7 
2 
1 
2 

18 
3 
1 

24 
84 
82 
49 
4 

860 
1.088 

721 
1,063 

795 

Dunham 

Eagle 

East  Boulevard 

East  Clark 

East  Denison 

672 
26 
349 
306 
389 

59 
6 
76 
23 
80 

7 
2 

1 

"2 

126 

1 

18 

2 

88 

122 

13 

6 
13 
44 

5 
24 

1 
23 

icx) 

116 
5 

"l 

18 

380 

19 

69 

9 

765 
656 
742 
407 
621 

East  Madison 

Empire 

Fairmount 

Fowler 

Fruitland 

487 
567 
400 
282 
266 

164 

93 

6 

56 

26 

1 
1 
1 

6 
1 

248 

3 

1 

192 

2 

8 
3 
1 
10 
2 

15 
9 

24 
2 

39 

1 

i2 

260 

25 

3 

3 

14 

983 
701 
603 
637 
310 

Fullerton 

Giddings 

Gilbert 

Gordon 

Halle 

10 
402 
405 
414 

558 

17 

84 

294 

128 

152 

i'58 
"4 

67 

74 

260 

7 

4 

"'4 
3 
3 
5 

24 

84 

15 

6 

684 

16 

5 

"26 
2 
4 

2 
85 
11 
19 
13 

780 
847 
1.088 
588 
748 

Harmon 

Harvard 

Haseldell 

Hioks 

Hodge 

34 
218 
936 
294 
508 

4 

33 

101 

102 

205 

31 

"4 

4 
4 

1 

38 

"2 

4 

642 
2 

4 
5 

4 

"  1 

472 
10 

2 
415 

36 
24 

4 
3 

114 

7 

59 
6 
22 
42 
75 

677 

714 

1.068 

1,071 

841 

Hough 

Huck 

Kennard 

Kentucky 

Kinsman 

782 
169 
162 
367 
543 

37 

114 

33 

61 

200 

4 

847 

1 

11 

1 

166 

1 

1 

12 

3 
2 
63 
5 
6 

5 

■90 
247 

1 
18 
17 

6 
15 

1 

"2 
2 

49 

7 

2 

71 

66 

95 

841 
471 

1.196 
689 

1.178 

Landon 

Lawn 

Lincoln 

Longwood 

Manon 

692 
374 
299 
131 
14S 

87 

61 

66 

7 

7 

"12 
427 
132 

4 

1 

133 

8 

"5 

3 

47 

271 

2 

11 

321 

19 

7 

2 

"3 
14 

7 

■*8 

3 

80 

16 
10 
22 
6 
63 

810 
462 
864 
661 
723 

282 


TABLE  U.— {Continued) 


Schoo 

1 

a 

d 
g 

o 

0 

n 

a 
.5 

1 

Is 

W 

1 

1 

0 

■51 

1 

Mayflower 
Memorial 
Memphis 
Miles 
Miles  Park 

127 
300 
415 
380 
488 

34 
130 
67 
32 
49 

494 

34 

2 

12 

122 

49 

184 
15 

I 
37 

28 

33 

16 

2 

1 

42 
76 
1 
22 
28 

98 
6 
2 
1 

35 

136 

336 

9 

12 

13 

1,177 
897 
523 
673 
700 

Milford 
Mill 

Moulton 
Mound 
Mt.  Pleasant 

389 
342 
189 
91 
334 

391 

151 

53 

34 

39 

"8 
"6 

304 

3 

4 

183 

126 

6 

3 

16 

"l8 

61 
6 
5 

1 
2 

2 

4 

20 

256 

2 

47 
"6 

4 

5 

14 

1 
11 

1.193 
621 
301 
566 
643 

Murray  Hill 
North  Doan 
Nottingham 
Observation 
Orchard 

171 
612 
342 
166 
539 

1 

40 

99 

15 

205 

"9 
2 
1 
4 

"2 

3 

10 

5 

1,171 

2 

25 

98 

2 

"3 

28 

i'71 

"3 
"2 

"13 

5 
20 
70 

9 
39 

1.348 
688 
572 
299 
980 

Outhwaite 

Parkwood 

Peari 

Quincy 

Rawlings 

245 

582 

170 

418 

62 

68 
6 
49 
84 
61 

1,033 

"io 

2 

1 

"17 

138 

4 

1 

2 
6 

60 

"23 
537 

9 

38 

7 

21 

3 

"7 
16 

33 

"6 
24 
21 

1,440 
593 
281 
717 

724 

Rice 

Rockwell 
Rosedale 
Sackett 
St.  Clair 

227 
92 
750 
692 
359 

68 
5 

33 
195 
163 

5 
2 

■3 

347 

i2'25 
5 

27 

"25 
26 
10 

294 
2 

"17 
16 

5 

2 

"6 
109 

66 

"7 

7 

21 

23 

9 

6 

90 

1,060 
126 
817 

1,173 
762 

Scranton 
Sibley 
South 
South  Case 
Sowinski 

446 
624 
478 
247 
602 

167 
41 
43 
16 

127 

1 
147 

1 

638 

10 

7 
6 

4 

2 

20 

218 

50 

3 

22 
7 
4 
8 

11 

185 

43 

1 

25 

57 

168 

2 

65 

724 
903 
906 
960 
892 

Stanard 

Sterling 

Todd 

Tremont 

Union 

235 
481 
265 
276 
275 

133 
21 
83 

202 
55 

6 
60 

1 
4 

1 

1 

46 

10 

440 

2 

114 

3 

22 

8 

1 

13 

20 

1 

5 

■45 
483 
103 

6 

3 

6 

266 

28 

280 

42 

6 

495 
31 

675 
722 
467 
1,778 
934 

Wade  Park 

Walton 

Warner 

Waring 

Warren 

653 
382 
335 
357 
250 

40 
219 

50 
165 
110 

"  1 

"  1 

1 

56 
37 

438 

2 
66 
40 

3 

22 

1 
15 
8 

1 
1 

"21 

87 

"20 
"65 

23 

8 

8 

50 

12 

719 
776 
471 
612 
961 

Washington  Pk. 

Watterson 

Waverly 

Willard 

Willson 

110 
356 
381 
839 
682 

11 

44 

48 

235 

75 

"'3 
3 

1 

131 

"  1 

16 
2 

ibi 

2 
8 
3 

"4 

7 

19 

9 

20 

■3 
1 

"  1 
4 

4 
19 
48 
27 
21 

276 
624 
491 
1.154 
794 

Woodland 
Woodland  ffills 
Wooldridge 

218 
393 
477 

63 
96 
91 

2 
527 

59 

185 

19 

6 
2 
4 

504 

8 

37 

5 
9 
8 

97 

80 

3 

66 
27 
46 

1.019 

800 

1,211 

37.454 

8.118 

6,219 

5.325 

4,493 

3,686 

3,623 

1.668 

4,670 

75.040 

283 


Such  facts  as  these,  together  with  the  data  of 
Table  14,  indicate  the  great  difficulties  involved  in 
attempting  to  modify  instruction  to  meet  the  special 
needs  of  special  national  groups.  In  a  single  class- 
room there  may  be  pupils  of  a  dozen  different  na- 
tionalities. In  most  of  the  classrooms  of  the  city 
the  largest  single  group  is  made  up  of  children  from 
EngUsh-speaking  homes.  In  only  a  few  cases  are 
there  classes  in  which  practically  all  the  children 
are  of  the  same  nationality. 

Nevertheless  the  very  complexity  of  the  problem 
points  the  way  with  some  definiteness  to  certain 
wise  courses  of  educational  procedure.  It  is  apparent 
that  the  most  important  subject  in  the  schools  of 
Cleveland  is  English.  This  would  probably  remain 
true  if  there  were  no  foreign  children  enrolled,  but 
under  the  present  conditions  it  is  doubly  true.  The 
one  educational  certainty  is  that  the  ability  to  read, 
write,  and  speak  the  English  language  easily  and  cor- 
rectly is  the  ability  which  will  conduce  most  effec- 
tively to  the  moral  welfare,  the  cultural  develoj>- 
ment,  the  vocational  prosperity,  and  the  individual 
happiness  of  this  great  mass  of  children  now  in  the 
public  schools  of  this  city. 


The  Adult  Immigrant  and  the  School 
The  most  important  instrumentalities  for  the  in- 
struction of  the  adult  immigrant  are  the  public 
night  schools.  They  have  increased  in  scope  and  im- 
portance until  they  have  become  a  large  educational 
284 


enterprise,  enrolling  in  the  school  year  of  1914-15 
more  than  11,000  students. 

These  schools  open  in  October  and  continue  in 
session  for  20  or  22  weeks,  being  open  four  nights  each 
week.  At  the  close  of  the  regular  term  in  March 
most  of  them  suspend  work,  but  a  few  are  continued 
for  a  further  period  of  several  weeks.  The  experi- 
ment has  even  been  tried  of  continuing  a  few  of  the 
night  schools  through  the  summer  months.  The 
classes  are  held  in  regular  elementary  school  build- 
ings and  about  one-fourth  of  the  teachers  are  also 
employed  as  teachers  in  the  day  schools,  while  the 
remaining  three-fourths  are  people  working  at  other 
occupations  during  the  day. 


Citizenship  Classes 
In  addition  to  their  regular  work,  the  evening  schools 
estabUshed,  two  years  ago,  classes  in  citizenship  for 
the  benefit  of  aliens  desiring  to  secure  naturaliza- 
tion papers.  During  that  winter  these  classes  en- 
rolled more  than  1,400  men.  Last  year  the  total  en- 
rollment was  about  1,300.  During  the  winter  of 
1915-16  the  number  was  less  than  600. 

The  motives  which  prompted  the  establishment 
of  the  citizenship  classes  are  deserving  of  the  heartiest 
approbation  and  support.  Socially  and  educationally 
this  innovation  is  wisely  planned  and  worthy  of 
continuation  and  extension.  Nevertheless  the  fact 
is  that  these  classes  are  making  a  most  meager  con- 
285 


tribution  toward  helping  aliens  to  become  American 
citizens.  Their  enrollment  is  progressively  decreas- 
ing and  their  attendance  is  but  a  small  fraction  of 
their  enrollment. 

In  the  opinion  of  the  members  of  the  Survey  Staff 
the  causes  of  these  unsatisfactory  conditions  are  to 
be  found  in  the  character  of  the  instruction  given  in 
these  classes.  The  trouble  is  that  the  teaching  does 
not  follow  any  well  matured  plan  and  is  not  skilfully 
done.  It  suffers  from  the  same  sorts  of  weaknesses 
that  restrict  the  value  of  the  instruction  given  in  the 
regular  evening  schools.  The  nature  of  these  short- 
comings is  considered  in  detail  in  the  following  sec- 
tion. 

Quality  of  Instruction  in  Evening  Schools 
The  typical  characteristics  of  the  work  of  the  regular 
evening  classes  are  well  illustrated  by  that  observed 
in  five  successive  classrooms  in  one  school  visited  in 
March,  1916.  The  pupils  were  almost  entirely  young 
foreign  men  of  from  25  to  30  years  of  age.  Many  of 
them  were  employed  in  one  of  Cleveland's  great 
steel  manufacturing  establishments.  They  were  not 
illiterate,  but  they  had  almost  no  knowledge  of  Eng- 
lish. They  were  all  weary  from  their  day's  work  and 
they  kept  awake  only  by  the  exercise  of  apparent 
effort. 

In  the  first  of  the  five  classes  a  writing  lesson  was 
being  conducted,  and  these  husky  laboring  men 
were  busily  engaged  in  copying,  "I  am  a  yellow  bird. 
I  can  sing.  I  can  fly.  I  can  sing  to  you." 
286 


In  the  second  class  the  teacher  was  barely  able  to 
talk  English  and  the  work  was  almost  entirely  con- 
ducted by  the  translation  method.  The  teacher  made 
several  fruitless  attempts  to  get  the  pupils  to  speak 
English.  He  did  this  by  telling  them  repeatedly, 
"Think  the  sentence  in  your  own  language  and  then 
try  to  translate  it  into  English."  After  this  had  failed 
to  produce  satisfactory  results,  the  teacher  gave  it 
up  and  had  them  read  a  selection  about  making 
pickles  from  cucumbers. 

The  third  class  was  taught  by  a  bright  young 
foreigner  who  had  apparently  received  a  classical 
education.  The  work  was  continued  just  as  are  many 
classes  in  Latin.  The  teacher  spoke  English  almost 
perfectly,  and  although  his  pupils  could  neither  speak 
nor  understand  it,  he  carefully  explained  to  them 
about  inflections,  voices,  moods,  tenses,  numbers, 
and  persons.  He  then  told  them  that  they  were  to 
conjugate  "to  have"  and  "to  be."  After  this  was 
explained  to  them  in  their  own  language,  the  pupils 
all  went  to  the  board  and  began  to  write  "I  have, 
thou  hast,  he  has,"  and  "I  am,  thou  art,  he  is,"  etc. 
The  teacher  explained  that  "art"  was  the  second 
person  singular,  indicative  mood,  present  tense,  of 
the  substantive  verb  "be."  After  this  the  class  had 
a  reading  lesson  from  the  third  reader  about  a  robin 
that  said,  "  God  loves  the  flowers  and  birds  too  much 
to  send  the  cold  to  freeze  them." 

In  the  fourth  room  the  pupils  had  a  reading  lesson 
about  "Little  drops  of  water.  Little  grains  of  sand." 
They  then  had  a  spelling  lesson  of  the  words  in 
287 


the  reading  selection.  The  teacher  was  interested, 
vivacious,  and  expended  a  great  amount  of  nervous 
energy  in  talking  very  rapidly  and  almost  inces- 
santly. She  took  up  most  of  the  time  with  her  own 
activity  and  most  of  the  pupils  could  not  understand 
what  she  was  talking  about. 

In  the  fifth  and  last  class  the  teacher  was  also 
most  voluble  and  talked  more  than  all  the  students 
combined.  It  was  a  reading  lesson  and  the  14  men 
present  were  engaged  in  reading  a  selection  beginning 

"Oh,  baby,  dear  baby, 
Whatever  you  do, 
You  are  king  of  the  home 
And  we  all  bend  to  you." 

Similar  examples  might  be  multiplied  from  the  writ- 
ten records  of  the  work  observed  in  the  evening 
classes,  and  classes  of  the  sort  described  may  be 
seen  by  any  one  who  will  take  the  time  to  visit  the 
evening  schools  of  the  city.  Perhaps  the  most  im- 
pressive characteristic  of  it  all  is  that  every  teacher 
appears  to  be  entirely  free  to  teach  whatever  he 
pleases  by  any  methods  that  he  wishes  to  use.  The 
lessons  assigned  and  the  methods  employed  in  the 
different  rooms  are  astonishingly  varied.  There 
seems  to  be  no  effective  supervision,  no  plan  for  im- 
proving the  teachers  in  service,  and  no  effort  to  find 
out  which  of  the  many  methods  used  produces  the 
best  results. 

Reorganization  Essential 

In  the  opinion  of  the  Survey  Staff  it  is  essential  that 

the  evening  school  work  of  Cleveland  be  reorganized. 

288 


Some  of  the  results  of  the  work  as  at  present  con- 
ducted are  revealed  by  the  attendance  records.  The 
records  of  attendance  show  that  only  a  small  pro- 
portion of  those  who  enroll  remain  more  than  a  few 
weeks. 

The  tragic  part  of  the  situation  is  that  every  year 
thousands  of  earnest  and  hopeful  foreigners  flock  to 
the  night  schools  in  keen  anticipation  of  learning 
English,  and  after  a  few  weeks  become  discouraged 
and  drop  out  because  the  teachers  do  not  meet  their 
needs.  Since  they  cannot  understand  what  is  going 
on,  their  interest  flags.  As  the  weeks  pass  by,  physi- 
cal weariness  overcomes  them  more  and  more  each 
night.  Finally  they  sink  into  despondency  and  dis- 
couragement as  they  see  their  cherished  dream  of 
mastering  the  new  language  depart.  This  is  no  matter 
of  casual  import  for  these  men  and  women.  They 
are  not  children  and  most  of  them  are  not  students. 
Concentrating  their  minds  on  the  lesson  impUes 
painful  effort.  If  this  intense  application  does  not 
bring  them  within  a  few  weeks  some  results  that  the 
immigrant  can  appreciate,  he  begins  to  realize  that 
his  constructive  ideal,  his  dream  of  becoming  an 
American,  are  not  to  be  attained  through  the  public 
school. 

There  are  70,000  people  in  Cleveland  who  cannot 
speak  English,  and  there  are  few  social,  civic,  or 
educational  problems  more  important  than  to  make 
it  possible  for  this  tenth  of  the  city's  population  to 
understand  and  communicate  with  the  other  nine- 
tenths.  The  number  of  unnaturalized  adult  foreign 
10  280 


men  is  nearly  as  large  as  that  of  the  non-English- 
speaking  inhabitants.  Moreover,  these  conditions 
are  becoming  worse  rapidly  and  steadily.  Again 
Cleveland  makes  a  poorer  showing  in  these  respects 
than  any  other  large  city. 

For  these  reasons  the  survey  deems  it  essential 
that  the  elementary  evening  schools  of  this  city 
should  be  reorganized  so  as  to  do  efficient  work  in 
teaching  English  to  foreigners.  What  is  most  needed 
is  leadership.  One  thoroughly  competent  supervisor, 
charged  with  responsibility  for  making  the  work 
efficient,  and  given  greatly  increased  power  in  the 
selection,  training,  and  direction  of  his  assistants, 
could  work  a  rapid  reform  in  the  whole  situation. 
While  increased  appropriations  are  needed  for  sup- 
plies and  for  teachers,  they  are  not  nearly  so  im- 
portant as  skilled  and  enterprising  leadership.  The 
city  cannot  afford  to  be  indifferent,  or  inefficient,  or 
contented  in  its  attitude  toward  helping  its  aliens 
to  help  themselves. 


Conclusions  and  Recommendations 
1.  Cleveland  is  one  of  the  most  foreign  cities  in  the 
United  States. 

2.  The  foreign  population  is  becoming  increasingly 
foreign  from  the  standpoint  of  the  ability  to  speak 
and  read  EngUsh.  No  other  large  city  makes  so  poor 
a  record  in  this  respect. 

3.  In  1910  nearly  one-third  of  all  the  men  of  voting 
age  in  Cleveland  were  aliens.  In  this  respect  Cleve- 

290 


land  makes  a  poorer  showing  than  most  of  the  other 
large  cities  of  the  country. 

4.  Approximately  one-half  of  the  children  in  the 
elementary  schools  and  one-third  in  the  high  schools 
come  from  homes  in  which  some  foreign  language  is 
the  "language  of  the  home."  About  20,000  children 
are  receiving  instruction  in  some  foreign  language  in 
the  parochial  schools  of  the  city. 

5.  In  order  that  the  schools  may  do  the  most  ef- 
fective work  it  is  essential  that  the  teachers  should 
know  something  of  the  history  and  characteristics  of 
the  different  national  groups  represented  by  the 
pupils.  The  survey  report  furnishes  the  most  neces- 
sary elements  of  this  information  in  conveniently 
condensed  form. 

6.  The  foreign  children  are  distributed  among  so 
large  a  number  of  national  groups  and  scattered 
through  the  schools  all  over  the  city  in  so  complex 
a  manner  as  to  make  it  almost  impossible  to  modify 
instruction  so  as  to  meet  the  special  needs  of  separate 
national  groups. 

7.  The  one  educational  certainty  in  the  situation  is 
that  the  most  important  educational  asset  that  the 
schools  can  give  all  children  is  a  mastery  of  speaking, 
reading,  and  writing  the  English  language. 

8.  The  survey  recommends  that  the  work  for 
non-English  speaking  children  be  made  more  effec- 
tive by  adopting  methods  of  English  teaching  such 
as  have  been  developed  in  New  York  and  Boston  or 
the  superior  methods  in  use  in  Porto  Rico  and  the 
Philippine  Islands. 

291 


9.  Cleveland  maintains  evening  classes  in  which 
almost  all  the  students  are  foreigners  whose  main 
object  in  attending  is  to  learn  English. 

10.  The  survey  finds  that  the  work  in  evening 
elementary  schools  has  not  been  well  and  efficiently 
conducted.  It  recommends  a  thorough  reorganiza- 
tion. The  most  important  factor  in  reorganization 
is  efficient  leadership. 


292 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  PUBLIC  LIBRARY  AND  THE  PUBLIC 
SCHOOLS 

(Leonard  P.  Ayres  and  Adele  McKinnie) 

Two  significant  conditions  characterize  the  place  of 
the  public  library  in  the  community  life  of  Cleveland. 
The  first  is  that  the  public  library  has  always  been 
closely  connected  with  the  public  schools.  The  second 
is  that  the  people  of  Cleveland  support  their  public 
library  more  generously  and  use  its  facilities  more 
extensively  than  do  the  citizens  of  other  cities. 


Library  Branches  in  Public  Schools 
The  present  city  librarian  has  held  office  for  more 
than  30  years,  and  during  that  entire  period  work 
has  been  continuously  under  way  looking  toward  the 
establishment  of  increasingly  intimate  relationships 
between  the  activities  of  the  two  great  educational 
forces  in  the  community.  Beginning  in  1887,  the 
public  library  put  small  collections  of  books  into  some 
schools.  Less  than  10  years  later  a  special  branch 
library  was  established  in  the  Central  High  School. 

Since  its  inception  the  work  has  steadily  proceeded, 
with  the  object  of  carrying  to  all  the  school  children 
293 


the  opportunities  afforded  by  the  library.  At  the 
present  time  the  public  library  maintains  branches  in 
eight  high  school  buildings  and  in  the  Normal  School. 
It  also  has  branch  Ubraries  in  seven  elementary 
schools  and  classroom  libraries  in  68  schools.  More- 
over, the  public  Ubrary  endeavors  to  reach  school 
children  through  the  public  branch  Ubraries  situated 
in  different  parts  of  the  city  and  through  its  library 
clubs  maintained  in  these  branches. 

The  city  has  schools  and  Ubraries,  children  and 
books.  The  purpose  of  the  present  report  is  to  con- 
sider how  the  city  can  most  effectively  get  the  city's 
children  into  the  habit  of  reading  the  city's  books. 


Seven  Elementary  School  Libraries 
There  are  seven  libraries  in  elementary  schools.  The 
educational  authorities  furnish  the  rooms,  Ught,  heat, 
and  janitor  service,  while  the  pubUc  library  furnishes 
the  books  and  the  services  of  trained  Ubrarians. 
School  Ubraries  of  this  type  have  been  in  existence 
for  18  years.  During  this  time  20  have  been  estab- 
Ushed  and  13  of  them  given  up  after  varying  terms 
of  existence. 


Work  op  School  Libraries  with  Children 
Most  of  the  work  of  the  school  Ubraries  is  with  the 
children,  although  some  of  it  is  for  adults.  Many 
books  are  drawn  by  the  parents  and  relatives  of  the 
children  and  some  by  the  teachers  and  by  the  pupils 
294 


in  the  evening  schools.  The  school  librarian  not  only 
issues  and  receives  books,  but  secures  reference  ma- 
terial for  the  teachers,  conducts  story-telling  classes, 
and  gives  lessons  to  the  older  pupils  in  the  use  and 
care  of  the  volumes.  With  two  exceptions,  the  school 
libraries  are  not  open  every  school  day,  and  most  of 
them  are  not  open  in  the  evening.  In  four  out  of 
seven  of  the  school  libraries  pupils  are  permitted  to 
get  or  return  books  only  before  or  after  school.  Be- 
cause of  this  regulation  most  of  the  children  reach 
the  library  together  and  this  results  in  issuing  and 
receiving  the  books  so  rapidly  that  little  individual 
attention  is  possible. 


Book  Supply 
The  number  of  books  in  the  different  school  libraries 
ranges  from  a  little  over  1 ,000  to  nearly  5,000.  Where 
the  shelf  room  is  adequate,  the  juvenile  book  supply 
in  relation  to  the  volume  of  work  done  is  above  the 
average  for  the  entire  library  system.  Only  17  per 
cent  of  the  books  are  for  adults.  In  the  libraries  in 
the  foreign  districts  there  is  a  generous  supply  of 
books  in  the  languages  which  are  spoken  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. 

Conditions  of  Borrowing 
As  soon  as  a  child  can  write  his  name  and  gets  the 
endorsement  of  his  parent  and  his  teacher's  signa- 
ture, as  a  matter  of  verification  of  address,  he  may 
have  a  library  card.  Even  smaller  children  come  to 
295 


the  library  to  look  at  picture  books,  waiting  anxiously 
for  the  time  when  they  may  get  a  card  and  take  the 
books  home. 


Administration  of  Library  Work 
The  work  of  the  school  Ubraries  is  almost  entirely 
directed  and  supervised  from  the  main  library.  All 
the  Ubrarians  in  charge  of  school  libraries  have  had 
special  training  or  wide  experience  in  children's  li- 
brary work.  They  have  part  time  assistants,  the 
number  varying  in  the  different  libraries  with  the 
volume  of  the  work. 

In  general  the  principals  and  teachers  are  in  favor 
of  the  Ubrary  work  and  maintain  a  friendly  and  ap- 
preciative attitude  toward  the  Ubrarians.  Neverthe- 
less library  and  Ubrarian  are  incidental  and  not  inte- 
gral parts  of  the  school  and  its  work.  This  is  not  the 
fault  of  any  person  or  set  of  persons.  The  school 
authorities  and  the  Ubrary  authorities  have  always 
maintained  friendly  and  cordial  relations  toward  each 
other.  They  have  cooperated  in  the  work  they  are 
both  doing.  Nevertheless  that  part  of  their  work 
which  takes  form  in  the  elementary  school  library  is 
not  contributing  as  much  as  it  could  and  should  to 
the  welfare,  happiness,  and  education  of  the  children. 
Some  of  the  respects  in  which  the  work  falls  short  of 
its  possibiUties  have  been  set  forth.  Part  of  the 
remedy  is  to  be  found  in  modifying  the  organization 
and  administration  of  the  school  Ubrary  work  so  that 
it  shaU  become  an  essential  feature  of  the  work  of 
296 


the  school.  The  rest  of  the  remedy  will  be  found 
some  time  in  the  future  in  an  educational  leadership 
fundamentally  convinced  that  an  invincible  love  for 
reading  is  the  most  important  single  contribution 
that  the  school  can  give  the  child. 

Branch  Libraries 
About  seven-tenths  of  all  the  children  reached  by  the 
whole  Ubrary  system  are  cared  for  by  the  26  branch 
libraries.  These  branches  not  only  issue  books  to 
children,  but  equip  reading-rooms  for  them,  compile 
book  lists,  organize  clubs,  have  story-telling  hours, 
and  supplement  their  work  by  home  visiting.  The 
most  valuable  work  for  children  is  now  done  through 
these  branches.  The  activities  are  constructive  and 
vital.  There  has  been  some  duplication  of  equip- 
ment in  the  way  of  auditoriums  and  special  rooms. 
In  the  future  the  two  boards  should  consider  building 
the  branch  libraries  and  schools  together  or  close  to 
each  other,  so  that  the  library  can  carry  on  its  valu- 
able extension  work  without  duplicating  equipment. 

Classroom  and  Home  Libraries 
The  classroom  and  home  libraries  are  small  collec- 
tions of  books  sent  into  the  schoolrooms  and  homes 
of  the  children,  where  there  is  no  branch  library  with- 
in easy  reach.  They  are  considered  supplementary 
to  all  other  ways  of  getting  books  to  children,  and, 
broadly  speaking,  are  probably  transitory.  During 
the  past  school  year  there  were  381  classroom  libra- 
ries and  38  home  library  clubs. 
297 


An  indirect  way  that  children's  reading  is  influ- 
enced is  by  a  constant  effort  on  the  part  of  the  library 
to  help  the  teachers  and  to  cooperate  with  them. 


High  School  Libraries 
Cleveland  was  one  of  the  first  cities  to  install  a  library 
room  in  a  high  school.  All  the  high  schools  in  Cleve- 
land have  them  at  present  except  the  two  commercial 
high  schools.  The  schools  supply  the  rooms,  a  large 
part  of  the  books  and  magazines,  and  the  library  gives 
the  services  of  the  staff  and  a  part  of  the  books.  The 
high  school  librarians  in  the  main  have  had  college 
training  besides  library  training  and  experience. 

The  work  of  the  high  school  library  is  to  supple- 
ment the  school  work  in  every  way  possible.  This  is 
done  by  supplying  reference  material  for  school 
courses  and  debate  work.  Instruction  is  given  to 
freshmen  and  sophomores  in  the  use  of  the  library 
and  books.  In  general  the  high  school  libraries  have 
largely  limited  their  work  to  supplying  reference  ma- 
terial and  pupils  are  encouraged  to  go  to  branch 
libraries  for  recreational  and  even  some  reference 
reading.  Although  this  contact  is  made  for  some 
pupils,  it  seems  advisable  for  the  high  school  Ubrary 
to  supply  all  library  needs  for  as  many  pupils  as 
possible. 

The  Normal  School  Library 

A  library  is  maintained  in  the  Normal  School  under 

the  joint  auspices  of  the  Library  Board  and  the  Board 

298 


of  Education.  It  is  used  by  faculty  and  students  of 
the  training  courses  as  well  as  by  teachers  and  pupils 
of  the  Observation  School.  The  Ubrarian  is  respon- 
sible to  the  Library  Board  and  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion and  receives  part  of  her  salary  from  each  source. 
She  is  a  member  of  the  English  Department  of  the 
school  and  instructs  the  students  in  library  work  with 
children.  The  work  is  done  efficiently  and  well  and 
its  results  indicate  that  the  pupils  in  the  rest  of  the 
school  system  would  profit  from  a  similar  close  rela- 
tion of  library  work  to  school  work. 

Future  Developments 
The  survey's  study  of  the  library  and  the  schools  led 
to  one  major  conclusion  and  several  minor  ones.  The 
major  conclusion,  which  embodies  the  principal 
recommendation  of  this  report,  is  that  in  their  rela- 
tions to  each  other  both  schools  and  libraries  should 
subordinate  every  other  consideration  to  the  single 
aim  of  implanting  in  every  child  an  invincible  love 
for  reading. 

The  survey  holds  that  despite  the  good  work  done 
by  both  school  and  library  in  the  matter  of  guiding 
pupil's  reading,  the  most  worthy  and  important  ob- 
jects of  both  organizations  can  be  secured  only 
through  combining  efforts  with  the  single  purpose  of 
teaching  children  to  read  widely,  enthusiastically, 
inteUigently,  and  discriminatingly.  There  is  only  one 
way  in  which  this  can  be  accompUshed  and  this  is  by 
introducing  the  children  at  an  early  age  to  a  great 
variety  of  well  chosen  books  and  encouraging  them 
299 


in  every  possible  way  to  read  them.  In  order  to  do 
this  most  efifectively,  the  library  and  the  schools  to- 
gether will  have  to  adopt  the  same  policy  that  the 
library  has  for  years  been  following  in  its  work  with 
other  classes  of  the  community.  The  basis  of  this 
policy  has  been  to  take  the  books  to  the  people  who 
ought  to  read  them.  As  a  part  of  this  policy  Ubraries 
have  been  estabUshed  in  branches,  in  private  dwell- 
ing houses,  in  fire  and  poUce  stations,  and  even  on 
boats.  The  survey  believes  that  the  policy  is  vaUd 
and  that  it  should  shape  and  control  the  work  with 
the  pubUc  schools. 

Reading  and  Education 
Reading  is  the  most  important  thing  the  child  can 
learn  in  school.    It  is  the  key  that  opens  most  of  the 
doors  through  which  the  adult  will  wish  to  pass. 

In  order  that  children  may  really  learn  to  read, 
they  need  large  numbers  of  books.  Their  progress  in 
reading  will  be  ahnost  entirely  dependent  on  the 
number  of  interesting  books  at  their  command.  They 
must  learn  to  read  as  they  learn  to  talk — through  un- 
remitting exercise.  They  must  read  and  read  and 
continue  to  read.  For  these  reasons  the  schools  and 
the  library  must  combine  in  united  and  concerted 
effort  to  bring  to  every  boy  and  girl  compelling 
stimulus  to  varied  and  voluminous  reading. 

School  Libraries  and  the  Platoon  Plan 

The  Board  of  Education  is  now  experimenting  with 

the  platoon  plan  in  several  of  its  elementary  schools. 

300 


Under  this  plan  one  room  is  especially  equipped  and 
set  aside  for  music,  another  for  art,  another  for  liter- 
ature, others  for  shops,  and  so  on.  The  survey- 
recommends  that  the  library  board  and  the  Board  of 
Education  consider  the  establishment  of  a  school 
library  in  each  school  building  reorganized  on  the 
platoon  plan  or  any  similar  plan.  Such  a  school  li- 
brary would  differ  from  the  present  ones  in  that  the 
library  room  would  be  a  session  room  accommodating 
several  different  classes  of  pupils  during  the  day. 

Libraries  in  Junior  High  Schools 
The  school  system  is  now  establishing  junior  high 
schools  for  the  seventh,  eighth,  and  ninth  grades. 
Even  if  the  system  should  cease  to  grow  it  would 
require  about  15  junior  high  schools  for  the  whole 
city.  The  survey  strongly  recommends  that  a  li- 
brary be  established  and  a  librarian  appointed  for 
each  of  these  new  schools. 

Inadequate  Salaries  of  School  Librarians 
As  a  class  the  librarians  in  both  the  elementary  and 
high  schools  are  well  equipped  and  underpaid.  Most 
of  them  have  graduated  from  high  school,  gone 
through  college,  taken  a  two-year  course  in  a  training 
school  for  librarians,  have  worked  for  several  more 
years  as  librarians,  and  some  of  them  have  had  sev- 
eral years  of  teaching  experience.  Those  in  the  ele- 
mentary schools  are  as  a  class  as  well  educated  and 
better  paid  than  those  in  the  high  schools. 
301 


The  salaries  of  both  elementary  and  high  school 
librarians  are  seriously  lower  than  those  of  the 
teachers  in  the  same  classes  of  schools.  In  the  case 
of  the  high  school  librarians  the  contrast  is  particu- 
larly serious.  In  general  terms  it  may  be  truly  said 
that  the  high  school  librarians  have  better  profes- 
sional preparation  than  the  high  school  teachers  and 
are  paid  less  than  half  as  well.  Every  argument  for 
the  adequate  payment  of  teachers  applies  with  equal 
force  to  the  school  librarians. 


Conclusions  and  Recommendations 
1.  The  survey  recommends  that  the  Library  Board 
advise  with  the  Board  of  Education  as  to  the  possi- 
bility of  erecting  new  branch  Ubraries  in  connection 
with  public  school  buildings.  It  recommends  that 
the  two  boards  consider  the  establishment  of  a  school 
library  in  each  new  school  building  reorganized  on 
the  platoon  plan  or  any  similar  plan. 

2.  The  survey  recommends  that  the  two  boards 
immediately  undertake  the  establishment  of  well- 
equipped  hbraries  and  the  appointment  of  trained 
librarians  for  all  junior  high  schools.  It  recommends 
that  the  book  collections  of  the  senior  high  schools  be 
expanded  so  as  to  include  works  of  inspiration  and 
recreation  as  well  as  reference  books. 

3.  The  survey  recommends  that  the  salaries  of 
school  librarians  be  increased  so  as  to  be  on  a  level 
with  those  paid  teachers  doing  correspondingly  re- 
sponsible work. 

302 


4.  The  survey  recommends  that  there  be  estab- 
lished a  corps  of  teacher  librarians,  certified  by  the 
Library  Board  as  librarians,  by  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion as  teachers,  paid  by  both  boards,  and  appointed 
to  their  positions  by  the  Board  of  Education.  It 
recommends  that  a  supervisor  of  school  libraries  be 
appointed  in  charge  of  all  library  work  with  the  pub- 
lic schools.  This  official  should  be  nominated  by  the 
Library  Board,  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion, and  paid  by  both  boards. 


303 


CHAPTER  XVI 

SCHOOL  BUILDINGS  AND  EQUIPMENT 

(Leonard  P.  Ayres  and  May  Ayres) 

The  school  buildings  of  Cleveland  are  evidence  of  a 
wise  and  progressive  policy,  having  its  inception 
before  the  organization  of  the  city,  and  growing  in 
accordance  with  growing  educational  ideals.  The 
amount  of  money  expended  on  school  plants  has 
increased  from  $12,000  in  the  decade  from  1840 
through  1850,  to  nearly  800  times  as  much  in  the  10 
years  just  ended.  This  enormous  increase  in  invest- 
ment is  partly  due  to  enlarging  population,  but  in  a 
far  greater  degree  to  a  determination  that  the  fullest 
possible  educational  opportunity  shall  be  open  to 
Cleveland's  children. 

Building  for  Education 
The  building  policy  has  been  shaped  by  five  watch- 
words of  progress.  The  first  is  "education."  The 
earliest  and  most  fundamental  developments  in 
schoolhouse  construction  came  through  changing 
methods  of  teaching  and  learning.  Children  were 
sent  to  school  for  the  purpose  of  acquiring  skill  and 
knowledge.  Any  change  in  building  or  equipment 
which  would  lead  to  efficiency  in  the  learning  process 
304 


was  held  to  be  therefore  desirable.  Cleveland  schools 
show  a  steadily  progressive  growth  in  providing  ade- 
quate educational  facilities  for  teachers  and  children. 

Building  for  Economy 
The  second  watchword  by  which  building  policy 
has  been  shaped  is  "economy."  From  the  first, 
Cleveland  seems  to  have  pursued  a  fairly  economical 
policy  of  schoolhouse  construction.  Plans  have  been 
elaborated  as  needs  grew.  Architects  and  engineers 
have  been  employed  as  regular  members  of  the  staff, 
and  uniform  standards  of  building  construction  are 
gradually  being  adopted  to  secure  beauty,  durability, 
and  usefulness  at  the  lowest  ultimate  cost. 

Building  for  Safety 
The  third  work  which  has  been  of  influence  in  formu- 
lating the  building  poUcy  is  "safety."  This  is  a  mat- 
ter of  recent  growth — the  direct  result  of  the  disas- 
trous school  fire  at  CoUinwood.  Ten  years  ago  there 
was  comparatively  little  concern  about  the  safety 
of  school  buildings.  Today  there  is  active  and  con- 
structive interest.  Cleveland  is  one  of  the  few  cities 
in  the  United  States  where  the  CoUinwood  disaster 
could  never  be  repeated.  Cleveland  parents  may  send 
their  children  to  the  public  schools  and  have  no  un- 
easiness as  to  their  safety. 

Building  for  Health 
The  fourth  slogan  is  "health."  One  of  the  influences 
most  potent  in  changing  types  of  school  architecture 
20  305 


in  recent  years  is  the  realization  that  the  health  of 
the  children  is  a  public  trust,  and  as  such  provision 
for  its  care  is  properly  a  function  of  the  public  school. 
Cleveland  was  one  of  the  pioneers  in  this  field,  and 
in  the  matter  of  indoor  planning  and  equipment  still 
holds  place  as  one  of  the  leading  cities  in  the  country. 


Building  for  Happiness 
Education,  economy,  safety,  health,  and  happiness 
— these  are  the  five  watchwords  of  educational  prog- 
ress. The  element  of  happiness  is  perhaps  the  newest 
conception,  and  it  is  in  this  field  that  some  of  the 
most  striking  innovations  of  the  future  will  surely 
come.  The  school  of  today  is  beginning  to  recognize 
that  play  is  a  necessary  activity  of  growth,  and  is 
placing  increasing  emphasis  upon  space,  equipment, 
and  instruction  within  school  properties  for  recrea- 
tional purposes. 


Developments  in  Seven  Decades 
Cleveland  is  now  using  school  buildings  erected  in 
each  of  the  past  seven  decades.  During  this  entire 
period  the  cost  of  accommodating  each  child  in 
a  schoolhouse  has  steadily  and  rapidly  advanced. 
A  study  of  the  types  of  buildings  erected  in  each 
decade  shows  that  this  increasing  cost  has  been 
caused  by  such  successive  changes  as  building  rooms 
to  accommodate  fewer  children,  supplying  running 
water,  indoor  toilets,  and  coat  rooms;  making  build- 
306 


ings  more  beautiful;  fireproofing;  and  providing 
special  equipment  such  as  auditoriums,  gymnasiums, 
playrooms,  swimming  pools,  shower  baths,  teachers' 
rest  and  lunch  rooms,  dispensaries,  libraries;  and 
rooms  for  the  kindergarten,  blind,  backward,  man- 
ual training,  domestic  science,  and  open  air  classes. 
Cleveland  has  109  elementary,  one  normal,  and  11 
high  school  plants.  Of  192  elementary  buildings  and 
annexes  now  in  use,  65  were  built  within  the  past  10 
years,  48  are  25  years  old  or  more,  and  eight  were 
erected  before  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War. 

Location  of  Buildings 
Many  school  buildings  are  located  on  corners  facing 
one  or  more  street  car  lines.  If  the  school  is  so  located 
that  children  are  compelled  to  cross  car  tracks  in 
coming  and  going,  it  is  probably  safer  to  have  those 
tracks  in  streets  immediately  adjacent  rather  than 
one  block  away.  Where  most  of  the  children  are  not 
compelled  to  cross  the  track,  it  is  undoubtedly  better 
to  place  the  school  upon  a  quiet  side  street.  The 
greatest  endeavor  should  be  made  to  have  the  neigh- 
borhood of  every  school  a  zone  of  quiet.  Asphalt 
should  take  the  place  of  brick  and  stone.  Car  tracks 
should  be  kept  in  good  repair,  and  rails  frequently 
greased  at  corners  to  prevent  loud  screeching  of 
wheels. 

Lighting 

Except  in  a  few  houses  used  temporarily  to  relieve 

crowded  conditions,  there  is  no  case  of  front  lighting 

307 


or  three-sided  lighting  in  any  regular  classroom. 
Some  special  rooms,  such  as  those  used  for  kinder- 
gartens, domestic  science,  etc.,  have  Ught  on  three 
sides.  In  the  newer  buildings  windows  are  on  one 
side  only.  They  are  of  good  size  and  reach  well  up 
towards  the  ceiling,  but  they  are  sometimes  too  far 
front  so  that  light  strikes  into  the  eyes  of  some  of  the 
pupils.  Windows  should  be  arranged  along  the  left 
wall  beginning  near  the  back,  but  not  running  all 
the  way  up  to  the  front  of  the  room. 

In  many  schools,  new  as  well  as  old,  there  are  rooms 
which  receive  light  from  the  north  side  only.  Such 
lighting  is  pedagogically  desirable  but  hygienically 
doubtful.  North  Ught  is  restful  but  lacks  the  health- 
giving  qualities  of  direct  sunshine.  Contagious  dis- 
ease spreads  among  children  by  minute  drops  of 
mucus  sprayed  into  the  air  in  coughing  or  sneezing. 
The  best  way  to  render  these  drops  sterile  is  to  flood 
every  corner  of  the  schoolroom  with  sunshine.  School 
buildings  should,  when  possible,  be  placed  so  that 
every  room  may  receive  sunshine  during  some  part 
of  the  day. 


Blackboards 
Every  regular  classroom  in  Cleveland  (except  those 
in  temporary  quarters)  is  equipped  with  natural  slate 
blackboards.  This  is  an  unusually  fine  record,  and 
an  evidence  of  wise  investment.  In  some  schools, 
first  and  second  grade  children  are  occupying  rooms 
intended  for  upper  grade  children,  and  the  black- 
308 


boards  are  consequently  too  high  for  them  com- 
fortably to  write  upon.  A  study  should  be  made  to 
locate  these  rooms.  Where  possible,  boards  should 
be  lowered.  In  other  rooms  narrow  platforms  might 
be  constructed  so  that  little  children  would  be  able 
to  write  upon  the  blackboard  without  undue  reach- 
ing and  straining. 

Furniture 
Nearly  three-fourths  of  the  schoolrooms  are  equipped 
with  adjustable  seats  and  desks,  and  more  of  the 
same  type  have  been  ordered.  This  is  an  excellent 
record.  Care  should  be  taken,  however,  not  only  to 
purchase  furniture  of  good  type,  but — first,  to  see 
that  desks  and  chairs  are  placed  with  the  edge  of  the 
chair  extending  one  and  a  half  inches  under  the  desk, 
so  that  children  can  sit  comfortably  well  back  on  the 
chair;  and — second,  after  every  promotion  period, 
to  see  to  it  that  chairs  and  desks  are  raised  or  lowered 
to  fit  the  needs  of  the  children  who  have  just  been 
assigned  to  them.  Teachers  should  be  trained  to 
notice  incorrect  seating  and  report  it  to  their  princi- 
pals, and  in  addition  regular  inspection  should  be 
made  by  members  of  the  medical  inspection  staff. 
These  matters  have  not  as  yet  received  sufficient 
attention  in  the  Cleveland  system. 


Special  Rooms 

The  schools  of  Cleveland  are  unusually  well  supplied 

with  auditoriums,  gjmanasiums,  playrooms,  swim- 

309 


ming  pools,  showers,  teachers'  rest  and  lunch  rooms, 
dispensaries,  and  rooms  for  the  kindergarten,  blind, 
backward,  manual  training,  domestic  science,  and 
open  air  classes.  These  rooms  are  well  planned  and 
usually  well  equipped.  The  dispensaries  are  espe- 
cially interesting  because  in  old  buildings  many  of 
them  represent  an  ingenious  adaptation  of  waste 
comers  to  the  needs  of  nurse  and  doctor.  Newer 
buildings  are  planned  so  that  the  auditorium,  gym- 
nasium, playroom,  pools,  showers,  toilets,  and  li- 
brary can  be  opened  to  the  pubhc  without  opening 
the  rest  of  the  school.  This  makes  such  buildings 
particularly  convenient  for  community  center  uses. 
Libraries  are  frequently  housed  in  basement  rooms, 
portable  buildings,  and  hallways.  In  the  near  future 
arrangements  should  be  made  whereby  branches  of 
the  pubhc  Ubrary  may  be  located  on  school  property, 
but  directly  accessible  to  the  public  so  that  they  may 
be  open  in  the  evening  as  well  as  during  school  hours. 


Toilet  Facilities 
Toilet  facilities  in  the  elementary  schools  are  not 
extremely  bad,  but  neither  are  they  good.  Rooms 
are  frequently  dark,  crowded,  poorly  arranged,  and 
ill  smelhng.  They  are  well  cared  for  by  the  cus- 
todians, but  it  is  difficult  to  keep  them  clean  or  hy- 
gienic. A  study  of  the  toilet  rooms  in  elementary 
schools  leads  to  the  following  suggestions: 

1.  Wherever   possible,    seats   should    be   placed 
around  the  walls  of  the  room  and  urinals  down  the 
310 


center,  because  this  arrangement  avoids  cutting  off 
light  from  the  windows.  In  the  few  schools  where 
this  has  been  done,  improvement  is  marked. 

2.  Most  of  the  newer  buildings  provide  drinking 
fountains  outside  the  toilet  rooms.  This  practice  is 
preferable  to  placing  them  inside,  because  it  separates 
the  children  into  groups,  and  lessens  the  tendency 
toward  loitering  and  confusion. 

3.  Floors  should  not  be  of  cement.  A  few  of  the 
newer  schools  have  asphalt  floors  in  the  toilet  rooms. 
This  is  wise  because  uric  acid  sets  up  a  chemical  ac- 
tion in  cement  which  cannot  be  corrected,  and  for 
this  reason  cement  should  not  be  used  near  seats  or 
urinals. 

4.  The  members  of  the  Survey  Staff  beheve  that 
in  all  new  buildings  toilets  should  be  provided  with 
doors,  such  as  are  now  installed  in  the  girls'  toilet 
of  the  new  Empire  School.  These  should  be  arranged 
to  swing  in  when  not  in  use.  Urinals  should  be  separ- 
ated by  partitions.  At  present  in  most  of  the  schools 
there  are  no  doors  or  screens  of  any  kind.  The  citi- 
zens of  Cleveland  would  not  tolerate  such  exposure 
in  their  own  homes,  and  there  seems  to  be  no  good 
reason  why  they  should  demand  it  of  their  children. 

5.  In  planning  toilet  rooms  in  new  buildings,  a 
careful  study  should  be  made  of  individual  flushing 
systems,  in  an  effort  to  find  something  more  satis- 
factory than  the  present  system  of  latrines.  Probably 
a  more  effective  method  would  be  the  individual 
flush,  where  water  is  released  by  the  removal  of 
weight  from  the  seat.  The  porcelain  open-front  seat 

311 


\ 


now  being  introduced  into  a  few  schools  is  a  marked 
improvement  over  the  old  style  wood. 

6.  Care  should  be  taken  to  provide  seats  of  differ- 
ent heights  from  the  floor  for  different  sizes  of  chil- 
dren. At  present  there  is  no  such  provision. 

7.  Metal  urinals  are  now  being  replaced  with  por- 
celain and  glass.  This  policy  is  strongly  to  be  com- 
mended, and  should  be  carried  to  a  completion  as 
rapidly  as  possible. 

8.  In  some  of  the  buildings  toilet  facilities  are 
strikingly  inadequate.  Whenever  extra  classes  are 
established  in  ground  floor  rooms,  auditoriums,  port- 
ables, etc.,  the  provision  of  toilets  should  be  cor- 
respondingly increased. 

9.  In  planning  new  buildings,  the  board  should 
consider  locating  toilets  on  upper  floors  as  well  as 
in  basements.  This  makes  the  lighting  problem 
much  simpler. 

Fire  Protection 
There  is  probably  no  city  in  the  country  so  large  and 
so  old  as  Cleveland  where  the  danger  of  fire  is  so 
slight.  All  new  buildings  are  fireproof.  In  old  build- 
ings basements  have  been  completely  shut  off  by 
metal  or  concrete  ceiUngs,  walls,  and  doors.  Wooden 
stairs  have  frequently  been  replaced  by  fireproof 
stairs.  Handrails  have  been  supplied  on  each  side. 
Square  corners  and  alcoves  at  landings  and  exits 
have  been  cut  off  by  wooden  bars.  Every  room  has 
been  provided  with  an  outside  exit  to  the  ground  or 
fire  escape.  Fire  escapes  are  commodious  and  of  good 
312 


Diagram  27. — Some  standards  used  in  judging  buildings 
313 


design.  Many  principals  provide  that  children  shall 
regularly  use  the  fire  escapes  on  clear  days  instead 
of  going  down  stairs.  (It  would  be  well  if  this 
were  made  compulsory  in  all  non-fireproof  schools.) 
Attics  are  clean  and  kept  locked.  Fire  alarms  are 
plainly  labeled.  Every  precaution  is  taken  against 
panic.  In  guarding  against  the  fire  hazard,  Cleve- 
land has  done  a  remarkable  piece  of  work. 


Heating  and  Ventilating 
Heating  and  ventilating  in  Cleveland  are  probably 
as  well  handled  as  in  any  other  large  city.  Engineers 
are  doing  the  best  they  can,  but  here,  as  elsewhere, 
satisfactory  results  have  not  as  yet  been  secured. 
The  New  York  State  Commission  on  Ventilation  is 
now  studying  the  problem,  and  it  seems  the  part  of 
wisdom  for  other  authorities  to  suspend  judgment 
on  what  constitutes  the  best  school  heating  and 
ventilating  system  until  the  Commission  pubUshes 
its  final  report.  The  engineers  charged  with  this 
matter  in  Cleveland  are  holding  their  own  plans 
tentative  in  nature,  until  the  results  of  this  study 
are  made  available. 

Costs 
The  survey  made  a  comparison  of  the  costs  of  the 
Cleveland  buildings  with  the  costs  of  similar  schools 
in  Boston,  Detroit,  Newark,  and  St.  Louis  and 
reached  the  conclusion  that  this  city  is  erecting 
modern  socialized  school  buildings  at  a  moderate 
314 


cost  and  is  receiving  large  values  in  return  for  its 
investments.  The  details  of  this  comparison  are 
presented  in  full  in  the  separate  report  on  "School 
Buildings  and  Equipment."  A  summary  of  the 
results  is  given  in  Table  15. 


TABLE   15.— COST   DATA   FOR  46   FIREPROOF   ELEMENTARY 
SCHOOL  BUILDINGS  IN  FIVE  CITIES 


Per 

Special 
rooms 

Average 

cent 

Num- 

Average 

Average 

Average 

cost  per 

for 

City 

ber  of 

cost  per 

cost  per 

cost  per 
pupil 

for  20 

room 

plans, 

build- 

class- 

cubic 

special 

specifi- 

ings 

room 

foot 

rooms 

and 
class 

cations 
and   in- 

spection 

Detroit 

10 

$4,972 

$.156 

$125 

7.4 

$3,629 

4.76 

Newark 

9 

6,641 

.196 

156 

4.7 

5,232 

4.76 

Cleveland 

11 

7,765 

.171 

175 

13.5 

4,678 

3.42 

St.  Louia 

7 

9,054 

.193 

209 

7.0 

6,584 

3.96 

Boston 

9 

7,878 

.256 

210 

6.2 

6,012 

9.10 

Building  Problems  of  the  Future 
If  the  present  rate  of  growth  continues,  in  order  to 
care  adequately  for  its  children  under  the  present 
plan,  the  school  board  will  have  to  erect  one  new 
schoolroom  for  every  school  day  in  the  year.  A 
modern  schoolroom  costs  $10,000.  This  means  for 
new  buildings  alone  an  annual  expenditure  of  over 
one  and  a  half  milhons.  In  deciding  how  the  build- 
ing funds  of  the  system  shall  be  spent,  there  are  four 
especially  difficult  problems  to  be  met : 

1.  Schools  must  be  located  near  the  homes  of  the 
children.  When  the  city  grows  or  population  shifts, 
new  quarters  must  be  provided  to  meet  new  needs. 
315 


2.  Schools  must  be  placed  so  that  children  will 
not  have  to  pass  dangerous  grade  crossings.  Rail- 
ways enter  from  13  different  directions,  and  cut 
through  the  city.  Many  of  the  crossings  are  pro- 
tected only  by  watchmen  and  wooden  gates.  Schools 
must  be  so  located  that  in  going  to  them  children  will 
not  run  the  danger  of  accidents  while  crossing  rail- 
way tracks. 

3.  Cleveland  is  divided  by  several  deep  runs  or 
gullies  across  which  there  are  few  bridges.  Build- 
ings must  be  placed  so  that  children  on  one  side  will 
not  be  obliged  to  make  a  wide  detour  in  order  to  go 
to  school  on  the  other. 

4.  Schoolhouses  rapidly  go  out  of  style.  Parents 
feel  that  they  have  the  right  to  demand  the  best 
that  is  known  for  their  children,  and  no  matter  how 
sound  structurally  a  building  may  be,  if  it  fails 
to  provide  gymnasiums,  libraries,  lunchrooms,  and 
other  modern  features,  they  look  upon  it  with  dis- 
favor. The  board  is  faced  by  the  necessity  not  only 
of  providing  new  buildings  to  house  increasing  num- 
bers of  children,  but  of  discarding  old  buildings  and 
replacing  them  by  others  which  will  more  nearly 
accord  with  modern  ideas  of  correct  educational 
housing. 


FORECASTINQ   FUTURE   NeEDS 

In  order  to  provide  adequate  schoolroom  facilities, 

the  Board  of  Education  must  be  able  to  estimate  how 

many  additional  children  may  be  expected  in  a  given 

316 


year,  and  to  what  parts  of  the  city  they  will  go.  One 
way  to  aid  in  judging  such  changes  and  trends  in 
population  is  to  use  the  school  census  which  the  law 
provides  must  be  taken  under  the  direction  of  the 
clerk  of  the  board.  By  comparing  results  from  year 
to  year  future  growth  can  be  predicted  and  new 
buildings  planned  accordingly,  while  smaller  unex- 
pected shifts  can  be  handled  through  emergency 
methods  during  the  summer  vacation  immediately 
following  the  census  returns.  The  school  census 
should  be  one  basis  for  shaping  the  building  policy 
of  the  board. 


The  Testing  of  Building  Policies 
There  are  two  principles  upon  which  building  policy 
should  rest.  First,  rooms  should  be  built  for  use. 
No  matter  how  loudly  demanded  they  may  be,  rooms 
which  are  not  going  to  be  used  should  not  be  built. 
The  school  architect  in  making  each  new  plan  should 
ask  himself,  "Is  this  a  good  way  to  utilize  this  space? 
What  definite  purpose  will  it  serve?  Is  there  any 
better  use  to  which  it  can  be  put?" 

The  second  principle  is  that  children  should  not  be 
expected  to  fit  the  plan  of  the  building,  but  build- 
ings should  be  planned  to  fit  the  needs  of  the  chil- 
dren. Just  as  teaching,  supervision,  administration, 
business  policy,  and  other  parts  of  the  school  sys- 
tem, so  also  the  school  plant  must  be  plastic  in  char- 
acter, changing  and  developing  for  one  single  pur- 
pose— to  provide  the  best  possible  environment  for 
317 


the  children  whom  it  serves.  For,  through  all  the 
complexity  of  modem  education,  the  fact  remains 
that  schools  and  school  systems  exist  for  the  sake  of 
the  children,  and  whatever  educators  do,  must  be 
for  the  ultimate  purpose  of  meeting  more  fully  the 
children's  needs. 


Conclusions  and  Recommendations 
1.  The  school  buildings  of  Cleveland  are  evidence  of 
a  wise  and  progressive  policy  that  has  grown  in  ac- 
cordance with  growing  educational  ideals. 

2.  The  building  policy  has  been  guided  by  five 
watchwords  of  progress:  education,  economy,  safety, 
health,  and  happiness. 

3.  Efficient  work  has  been  done  in  modernizing 
old  buildings  and  the  newer  ones  are  unexcelled  in 
design  and  quality. 

4.  There  is  probably  no  city  in  the  country  so  large 
and  so  old  as  Cleveland  where  the  danger  from  fire 
is  so  slight. 

5.  All  new  buildings  are  fire  proof.  Careful  pre- 
cautions have  been  taken  in  old  ones. 

6.  The  survey  has  gathered  comparative  data 
indicating  that  the  city  is  erecting  modern  socialized 
school  buildings  at  a  truly  moderate  cost. 


318 


CHAPTER  XVII 

OVERCROWDED  SCHOOLS  AND  THE 
PLATOON  PLAN 

(Shattuck  O.  HartweU) 

The  problem  of  mamtaining  suitable  housing  condi- 
tions in  a  growing  school  system  is  persistent  and 
always  urgent.  In  Cleveland  the  problem  is  now 
acute  both  on  the  side  of  financial  pressure  and  be- 
cause of  the  fact  that  temporary  accommodations 
are  now  in  use  for  about  7,500  pupils. 


Part  Time  Plans 
Within  recent  years  efforts  to  secure  better  adjust- 
ment between  buildings  and  curriculum  have  brought 
many  experiments  in  the  intensive  use  of  the  school 
plant.  The  best  known  of  these  newer  plans  for 
grade  work  is  that  in  operation  at  Gary,  Indiana. 
In  order  to  increase  building  capacity,  Superinten- 
dent Wirt  has  used  the  following  methods  in  varying 
proportions: 

1.  Shops,  gymnasiums,  and  an  auditorium  are  added 
to  the  school  building;  playgrounds  and  school 
gardens  are  provided  outside. 
319 


2.  Through  administrative  readjustments  all  special 

rooms  as  well   as  all   classrooms  are  used 
throughout  the  school  day. 

3.  Several  classes  are  accommodated  simultaneously 

in  auditoriums  and  gymnasiums. 

4.  Different  groups  of  children  come  to  school  at 

different  hours. 

5.  Libraries,  churches,  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  etc.,  are 

allied  with  the  schools  to  the  extent  of  caring 
for  part  of  the  children  part  of  the  time. 

Gary  is  a  new  city.  It  was  built  with  unusual  rapid- 
ity in  a  new  locality,  and  these  innovations  could  be 
tried  out  without  conflict  with  educational  custom 
or  traditions. 

The  true  tests  of  these  innovations  are  educational : 
numerical  results  must  be  regarded  as  secondary. 
The  change  most  generally  applicable  in  other  locali- 
ties and  most  likely  to  improve  educational  procedure 
and  housing  conditions  is  the  development  of  the  use 
of  special  rooms  and  equipment  throughout  the 
school  day. 

The  Platoon  Plan 
This  development  has  been  worked  out  in  the  platoon 
plan.  Under  this  plan  the  subjects  in  the  curricu- 
lum are  divided  into  two  groups  which  may  be 
termed  the  fundamental  or  regular  group  and  the 
auxiliary  or  special  group.  Each  regular  teacher 
takes  charge  of  two  groups  of  pupils,  having  each 
for  one-half  of  the  school  day.  The  regular  teacher  is 
relieved  of  responsibility  for  the  special  subjects. 
320 


These  are  taught  by  special  teachers  who  take  charge 
of  successive  groups  from  different  grades.  In  this 
way,  both  regular  and  special  rooms  are  used  steadily 
throughout  the  day. 

The  platoon  plan  aims  to  secure: 

1.  Better  instruction  and  improved  results  in  special 

branches  without  sacrificing  the  fundamental 
subjects  of  the  curriculum. 

2.  The  filling  of  important  gaps  in  the  present  curric- 

ulum without  the  increase  of  cost  that  often 
prohibits  such  additions. 

3.  A  more  constant  use  of  the  whole  school  plant,  and 

especially  of  facilities  usually  considered  "ex- 
tras," such  as  gymnasiums,  auditoriums,  and 
manual  training  rooms. 

4.  A  larger  enrollment  within  the  same  building. 

The  methods  used  by  the  platoon  plan  include: 

1.  Rearrangements  of  the  teaching  force. 

2.  A  slight  change  of  emphasis  on  teaching  values. 

3.  The  increase  of  work  in  physical  training  and  the 

arrangement  for  other  lines  of  auxiliary  work, 
such  as  music  and  drawing,  in  charge  of 
special  teachers. 

4.  A  new  division  of  the  daily  time-schedule  which 

may  or  may  not  involve  lengthening  of  the 
school  day. 

5.  Devices  and  equipment  to  facilitate  more  inten- 

sive use  of  individual  rooms. 

The  plan  may  be  made  operative  in  all  grades  from 
the  first  to  the  eighth,  or  in  upper  grades  only,  ac- 
cording to  local  situation  and  needs.  Where  the 
methods  of  first  grade  work  have  been  modified  by 
21  321 


kindergarten  influence,  that  grade  may  wisely  be 
left  under  individual  teachers. 

A  grade  room  is  required  for  each  double  group  of 
classes.  Each  class  occupies  this  room  during  half  of 
the  school  day.  Enough  special  rooms  and  occupa- 
tions must  be  provided  to  accommodate  one-half  of 
the  classes  throughout  the  day. 

These  accommodations  will  include  gymnasiums, 
playrooms,  auditoriums,  and  special  rooms  for  music, 
art,  Uterature,  manual  training,  domestic  science, 
library  work,  or  such  other  subjects  as  the  local 
authorities  wish  to  emphasize.  From  the  nature  of 
some  of  these  occupations,  and  because  classes  are 
in  these  rooms  for  short  periods,  rooms  hitherto  un- 
available for  regular  use — such  as  ground-floor  rooms 
— may  be  utilized,  while  special  rooms  previously 
saved  for  occasional  classes  may  be  used  through  the 
entire  session. 

The  platoon  plan  concentrates  preparation,  effort, 
and  attention  for  both  pupil  and  teacher. 


Length  and  Arra.ngement  of  Day 
The  platoon  plan  does  not  change  to  any  considerable 
extent  the  conditions  of  dividing  pupils  into  recita- 
tion divisions  for  the  regular  rooms,  nor  does  it  neces- 
sarily involve  a  longer  school  day.  Each  of  these 
factors  is  to  be  settled,  not  as  a  necessary  part  of  this 
plan,  but  on  the  basis  of  the  educational  advantages 
to  be  secured  by  one  procedure  rather  than  another. 
Rearrangement  of  the  time-schedule  involves  only 
322 


slight  variation  in  the  amount  of  time  given  to  regular 
subjects.    Three  factors  help  to  secure  this  result: 

1.  Transfer  of  a  part  of  the  regular  subjects  from  the 

regular  rooms  to  the  special  rooms. 

2.  Absorption  of  recesses  into  the  time  allotted  for 

physical  training. 

3.  Alternation  of  certain  subjects,  such  as  music  and 

drawing.  On  a  two-weeks'  schedule  these 
subjects  can  be  given  a  fair  allotment  of  time 
and  a  period  long  enough  to  secure  definite 
results  in  each  recitation. 

The  readjustment  of  time  divisions  gives  pupils  a 
day  of  more  variety  and  interest.  Practical  experi- 
ence does  not  show  the  scattering  of  effort  that  is 
sometimes  feared.  Supervision  is  concentrated  and 
reduced  with  good  effect. 

Equipment  op  Special  Rooms 
Two  consecutive  half-grades  will  usually  occupy  a 
grade  room.  Hence  practically  no  change  in  seating 
arrangement  is  needed  in  regular  rooms.  Equipment, 
such  as  lockers  or  boxes,  must  be  added  to  insure  a 
separate  storing  place  for  the  books  of  each  pupil. 
In  the  special  rooms  desks  or  chairs  of  two  or  three 
sizes  must  be  provided.  For  the  Uterature  and  music 
rooms  movable  furniture  is  preferable. 

Costs 

Five  factors  must  be  considered  in  comparing  the 

cost  of  running  a  school  in  the  conventional  way  with 

323 


the  cost  of  operating  the  same  school  after  it  has  been 
reorganized  on  the  platoon  plan.  These  five  factors 
are  expense  of  equipment,  supplies,  teaching,  super- 
vision, and  building  space. 

The  expense  of  altering  the  equipment  of  a  modern 
building  preparatory  to  installing  the  platoon  plan 
may  often  be  held  down  to  $1,000.  The  cost  of  sup- 
plies under  the  platoon  plan  is  somewhat  less  than 
under  the  ordinary  plan. 

Teaching  costs  under  the  platoon  plan  will  be  the 
same  as  under  the  old  plan  if  the  size  of  classes  re- 
mains unchanged.  If  playground  groups  are  doubled, 
the  teaching  cost  will  be  reduced. 

Economies  in  the  cost  of  supervision  under  the 
platoon  plan  are  both  of  the  direct  sort,  resulting 
through  decreased  expenditures,  and  of  the  indirect 
sort,  resulting  from  increased  efficiency. 

The  actual  amount  of  room  saved  and  the  conse- 
quent saving  of  investment  cost  in  buildings  of  from 
10  to  24  rooms  will  vary  from  15  per  cent  to  35  per 
cent,  according  to  the  construction  of  the  building 
and  the  application  of  standards  of  distribution  of 
pupils  in  classes.  The  smaller  saving  may  sometimes 
reflect  truer  economy  from  the  educational  point  of 
view. 

Equipment  of  Buildings 
The  saving  in  investment  justifies  liberal  provision 
for  the  equipment  needed  to  meet  changed  conditions. 
Four  sorts  of  equipment  are  essential.  These  are 
equipment  for  comfortable  seating,  care  of  wraps, 
324 


storage  of  books,  and  for  an  adequate  signal  system. 
Failure  to  prepare  for  these  needs  will  jeopardize  any 
experiment  with  the  platoon  plan,  since  small  centers 
of  friction  may  easily  defeat  the  application  of  good 
methods. 

Problems  of  Administration 
The  responsibility  for  keeping  attendance  and  class 
records  of  double  groups  should  be  apportioned  be- 
tween regular  and  special  teachers. 

The  most  difficult  problem  is  to  determine  the 
number  of  pupils  to  be  assigned  to  double  groups. 
From  70  to  75  as  an  average  will  result  in  some  saving 
of  room  and  will  assure  good  results  in  teaching. 
Higher  numbers  will  produce  greater  immediate 
economies  at  the  cost  of  poorer  results. 

Building  Problems  in  Cleveland 
Cleveland's  buildings  are  above  the  average  in  ac- 
commodations and  up-keep  and  many  of  them  have 
good  facilities  for  special  lines  of  instruction.  In  the 
105  buildings  listed  in  the  1915  directory  of  the 
Board  of  Education,  there  are  30  manual  training 
centers,  91  auditoriums,  and  43  gymnasiums.  Play- 
grounds are  larger  than  those  usually  found  in  cities. 
Thus  the  city  has  a  large  investment  which  the 
platoon  plan  would  cause  to  yield  increased  returns. 

The  use  of  special  facilities  for  their  intended  pur- 
poses is  now  infrequent  and  desultory.    Playground 
use  is  only  partly  developed.    At  every  playground 
visited  by  the  writer  the  special  equipment  was  found 
325 


dismantled  and  the  movable  parts  stored  in  the 
school  buildings. 

The  Ohio  tax  legislation,  a  low  valuation  of  local 
property,  and  the  rapid  growth  of  the  city,  combine 
to  make  the  present  funds  for  building  purposes 
entirely  inadequate.  The  chance  to  demonstrate  a 
saving  by  using  the  platoon  plan  is  clearly  available. 
Indeed,  it  will  require  careful  administration  to  avoid 
the  tendency  to  secure  a  greater  financial  saving  than 
the  best  educational  standards  will  warrant. 

Teachers  for  the  Platoon  Plan 
The  regrouping  of  the  teaching  corps  into  regular  and 
special  teachers,  as  those  terms  are  used  in  this  re- 
port, will  be  a  matter  of  little  difficulty  and  will 
involve  slight  hardship  to  teachers  if  the  change  is 
undertaken  gradually.  Experienced  teachers  with 
special  equipment  for  teaching  music,  drawing,  and 
even  physical  training,  can  be  found  in  considerable 
numbers  in  the  present  force.  Through  special 
courses  in  the  training  school  and  care  in  filling  va- 
cancies further  needs  may  be  met. 

Preliminary  Experimentation  Essential 
Experiments  with  the  platoon  plan  should  first  be 
made  in  a  few  schools.    This  will  develop  a  body  of 
teachers  who  can  help  in  the  practical  adjustments 
needed  as  the  plan  is  extended. 

During  the  progress  of  the  school  survey,  Cleve- 
land undertook  an  experiment  with  the  platoon  plan 
in  one  of  its  largest  schools.    Ample  provision  was 
326 


made  for  equipment  and  personnel  and  the  work 
went  forward  under  most  favorable  auspices.  At  the 
time  of  publishing  the  present  report,  the  results  of 
this  experiment  are  most  hopeful  and  the  Board  of 
Education  has  taken  steps  to  reorganize  several  other 
schools  on  the  platoon  plan. 

Conclusions  and  Recommendations 
1.  The  so-called  Gary  plan  for  utilizing  school  build- 
ings is  not  a  single  plan,  but  rather  a  combination  of 
five  varying  factors. 

2.  The  true  tests  of  the  innovations  introduced 
into  the  typical  school  plant  are  educational. 
Numerical  results  must  be  regarded  as  secondary. 

3.  The  most  valuable  savings  are  to  be  secured 
through  using  special  rooms  and  equipment  through- 
out the  school  day. 

4.  This  development  has  been  worked  out  in  the 
platoon  plan. 

5.  Rearrangement  of  the  time  schedule  involves 
only  slight  changes  from  current  practice  in  the 
amount  of  time  given  to  the  regular  subjects. 

6.  The  platoon  plan  brings  about  small  economies 
in  expenditures  for  teaching. 

7.  It  results  in  considerable  economies  in  the  cost 
of  supervision. 

8.  Savings  in  room  vary  from  15  to  35  per  cent. 

9.  The  cost  for  equipment  is  increased  for  each 
building,  but  the  per  capita  expenditure  is  reduced. 

10.  Experiments  with  the  platoon  plan  should  first 
be  made  in  a  few  schools  and  never  until  careful  and 
thorough  preliminary  preparations  have  been  made. 

327 


CHAPTER  XVni 

FINANCING  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

(Earle  Clark) 

In  the  past  twelve  years  the  expenditures  of  the 
Cleveland  Board  of  Education  have  mounted  rapidly. 
The  Board  spent  $2,360,000  in  1902-03,  while  the 
figure  for  1913-14  was  $4,770,000.  In  this  period 
school  revenues  advanced  from  $2,110,000  to 
$4,510,000.  Diagram  28  shows  the  course  of  revenue 
receipts,  of  expenditure  for  operation  and  main- 
tenance, and  of  outlay  for  permanent  improvements. 

The  revenues  of  the  Board  of  Education  have 
grown  less  rapidly  than  its  expenditures.  As  a  result, 
there  are  at  present  deficits  in  the  tuition  and  con- 
tingent funds  which  together  amount  to  over 
$700,000.  In  recent  years  the  board  has  been  forced 
to  borrow  money  on  short  term  notes  in  order  to 
meet  its  current  obligations. 

An  inquiry  as  to  the  causes  of  this  unsatisfactory 
condition  and  as  to  the  remedies  which  should  be 
applied,  leads  to  consideration  of  the  following  sub- 
jects: (1)  The  amounts  spent  for  all  school  purposes; 
(2)  The  distribution  of  expenditures  for  the  opera- 
tion and  maintenance  of  schools;  (3)  Economies  in 
administration;  (4)  Means  of  increasing  school 
revenues. 

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Diagram  28. — Expenditures  and  revenue  receipts  of  the  Cleve- 
land Board  of  Education.     1902-14 


Expenditures  for  all  School  Purposes 

The  expenditures  of  the  Board  of  Education  for  all 

school  purposes  and  for  the  different  classified  pur- 

329 


poses  of  school  operation  and  maintenance  have  been 
measured  by  comparing  them  with  the  corresponding 
expenditures  of  17  other  large  American  cities. 

In  many  important  respects  Cleveland's  educa- 
tional expenditures  fall  below  the  standard  set  by 
cities  of  similar  size.  The  amount  spent  for  opera- 
tion and  maintenance  of  schools  per  inhabitant  is 
about  the  same  in  Cleveland  as  in  the  average  city, 
while  the  amount  spent  per  $1,000  of  wealth  is  above 
the  average.  The  most  significant  basis  for  com- 
paring school  expenditures  in  the  different  cities  is 
supplied  by  figures  showing  amounts  spent  per  child 
in  average  daily  attendance.  Ratios  of  this  sort 
indicate  the  relationship  between  expenditure  and  the 
work  that  is  actually  being  done  in  the  schools.  For 
permanent  improvements  of  the  school  plant  Cleve- 
land spends  rather  less  per  child  in  average  daily  at- 
tendance than  the  average  city.  Moreover,  Cleveland 
spends  less  than  the  average  city  for  the  operation  and 
maintenance  of  schools.  In  1913-14  Cleveland's  per 
capita  expenditure  for  operation  and  maintenance  was 
$46.38,  as  compared  with  an  average  for  the  group 
of  cities  of  $49,04.  This  relatively  low  expenditure 
is  partly  due  to  the  fact  that  free  textbooks  are  not 
supplied.  The  expenditures  of  the  different  cities  for 
operation  and  maintenance  are  shown  in  Diagram  29. 

Distribution  of  Expenditures  for  the  Opera- 
tion AND  Maintenance  of  Schools 
Analysis  of  figures  for  operation  and  maintenance 
per  child  in  average  daily  attendance  shows  that 
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Cleveland  stands  relatively  high  among  the  cities 
in  expenditure  for  certain  purposes  and  relatively 
low  in  expenditure  for  other  purposes.  A  comparison 
of  classified  expenditures  in  Cleveland  with  averages 
for  the  group  of  cities  is  made  in  Diagram  30. 
Cleveland  spends  more  than  the  average  city  for: 

Office  of  board  and  other  business  offices 
Wages  of  janitors  and  other  employees 
Fuel 

Maintenance — repairs,  replacement  of  equipment, 
etc. 

The  items  for  which  Cleveland  spends  less  than 
the  average  city  are: 

Superintendent's  office 
Salaries  and  expenses  of  supervisors 
Salaries  and  expenses  of  principals 
Salaries  of  teachers 

Stationery,   supplies,   and  other  instruction  ex- 
penses 

This  list  shows  that  Cleveland  ranks  much  higher 
in  the  group  of  cities  with  respect  to  expenditure  for 
business  purposes  than  with  respect  to  expenditure 
for  such  educational  purposes  as  salaries  of  teachers 
and  salaries  and  expenses  of  principals.  For  every 
important  business  purpose  Cleveland  spends  more 
than  the  average  city;  for  every  important  educa- 
tional purpose  it  spends  less. 

The  employment  of  a  director  of  schools,  who  has 

charge  of  all  the  business  activities  of  the  Board  of 

Education  and  of  the  construction  and  maintenance 

of  the  school  plant  and  is  entirely  independent  of  the 

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superintendent  of  schools,  is  a  distinctive  feature  of 
Cleveland's  system  of  school  administration.  It 
seems  not  impossible  that  this  plan,  through  empha- 
sizing business  activities,  has  obscured  the  financial 
needs  of  distinctively  educational  work. 

In  Cleveland,  as  elsewhere,  teachers'  salaries 
constitute  the  largest  single  item  of  expenditure  for 
operation  and  maintenance.  In  expenditure  for  this 
purpose  per  child  in  average  daily  attendance  Cleve- 
land stands  twelfth  in  a  group  of  17  cities. 

Analysis  of  available  data  shows  that  Cleveland's 
low  expenditure  for  teachers'  salaries  is  mainly  due 
to  over-large  classes  in  elementary  schools.  In  Cleve- 
land the  salaries  of  teachers  in  elementary  schools, 
despite  recent  increase,  are  somewhat  lower  per 
teacher  employed  than  in  the  average  city,  while 
the  average  salary  paid  secondary  school  teachers 
is  slightly  above  the  prevailing  standard.  Diagram 
31  shows  the  salaries  of  teachers  in  elementary 
schools.  The  salaries  of  principals  of  elementary 
schools  are  distinctly  lower  in  Cleveland  than  in  the 
average  city. 

It  seems  clear  that  the  unsatisfactory  condition  of 
the  finances  of  the  Cleveland  school  system  is  not 
due  to  excessive  expenditures.  The  Board's  rela- 
tively large  expenditures  for  business  purposes  are 
warranted  by  the  needs  of  the  schools,  while  the 
amounts  spent  for  important  educational  purposes 
are  distinctly  too  low.  The  situation  demands  an 
increase  rather  than  a  diminution  in  total  disburse- 
ments. 

884 


o  vo  ir\  N 
p  r^  r>-  to 
Kl    ft    •-•    o 


3 

1 

J 


O 
O 


^  ^ 

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II 


l-«        S       -H       J3       4* 

335 


Economies  in  School  Administration 
Whether  a  city's  expenditure  for  school  purposes 
is  large  or  small,  a  Board  of  Education  should  en- 
deavor to  obtain  full  value  for  every  dollar  spent. 
In  the  main,  the  affairs  of  the  Cleveland  school 
system  are  administered  efficiently  and  with  econ- 
omy. It  appears,  however,  that  small  amounts 
might  be  saved  by  eliminating  duplication  in  the 
keeping  of  accounts,  by  utilizing  superfluous  cash 
balances,  and  by  obtaining  larger  interest  returns 
on  money  deposited  in  banks.  A  substantial  gain 
in  efficiency  might  also  be  made  through  the  adop- 
tion of  the  platoon  system  of  school  administration. 

Most  of  the  bonds  issued  by  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion have  been  issued  for  uniform  terms  of  20  years, 
and  the  payment  of  principal  and  interest  has  been 
provided  for  by  the  creation  of  a  sinking  fund.  It 
seems  that  the  board  would  do  well  further  to  con- 
sider the  advisability  of  issuing  serial  bonds,  thus  doing 
away  with  the  necessity  of  maintaining  a  sinking  fund 
after  the  dates  of  maturity  of  bonds  already  issued. 

But  the  most  favorable  results  that  could  be  ob- 
tained through  changes  in  administrative  methods 
would  not  materially  relieve  the  board's  financial 
embarrassment.  The  only  satisfactory  remedy  for 
the  difficulties  of  the  situation  is  to  be  found  in  in- 
creasing the  school  revenues. 

Means  of  Increasing  School  Revenues 
The  income  of  the  Board  of  Education  should  be 
sufficient  to  meet  the  real  needs  of  the  schools. 


Stated  in  general  terms,  these  needs  consist  in  (1) 
adequate  expenditure  for  operation  and  mainte- 
nance, (2)  adequate  expenditure  for  permanent  im- 
provements, (3)  provision  for  paying  for  the  greater 
part  of  necessary  improvements  from  current 
revenues  rather  than  from  the  proceeds  of  bond 
sales. 

The  sources  of  the  board's  revenue  are:  income 
from  the  Western  Reserve  Fund,  income  from  state 
taxation,  income  from  local  taxes,  and  earnings. 
Of  these  sources,  the  first  and  the  last  are  of  rela- 
tively small  importance.  Local  taxes  yield  over  90 
per  cent  of  the  board's  total  income. 

Funds  raised  by  state  taxation  for  school  purposes 
are  apportioned  among  the  communities  of  the  state 
on  the  basis  of  school  census  returns.  Cleveland  has 
not  always  received  its  maximum  income  from  this 
source  because  of  the  incompleteness  of  the  school 
censuses,  but  there  has  lately  been  a  gain  in  ac- 
curacy. By  taking  further  steps  to  obtain  a  complete 
enumeration  of  all  children  of  school  age  within  the 
school  district,  the  board  will  be  able  materially  to 
increase  its  revenue. 

The  board's  income  from  local  taxation  is  limited 
by  provisions  of  the  state  law.  The  law  provides  that 
boards  of  education,  except  as  authorized  by  vote 
of  the  people  or  to  meet  interest  and  sinking  fund 
charges,  shall  not  levy  taxes  at  rates  in  excess  of 
five  mills  on  the  dollar.  Moreover,  the  total  tax  for 
all  ordinary  expenses  of  government,  including  in- 
terest and  sinking  fund  payments  and  expenditures 
22  337 


specially  authorized  by  the  electors,  imposed  by  all 
governmental  bodies  within  each  taxation  district — 
the  county,  the  municipality,  and  the  board  of  educa- 
tion,— is  limited  to  a  rate  not  in  excess  of  15  mills 
on  the  dollar.  In  practice  it  is  the  second  of  these 
legal  limitations  that  has  restricted  the  income  of  the 
Board  of  Education. 

Boards  of  budget  commissioners,  consisting  of 
county  officers,  have  some  discretionary  authority 
in  adjusting  the  budgets  of  the  several  governmental 
bodies.  The  decisions  of  these  boards  affect,  within 
definite  limits  and  under  certain  circumstances,  the 
incomes  of  boards  of  education.  The  rulings  of  the 
local  budget  commissioners  have  been,  on  the  whole, 
distinctly  more  favorable  to  the  Board  of  Educa 
tion  than  to  the  other  governmental  bodies  within 
the  taxation  district.  Diagram  32  shows  the  rela- 
tion of  school  expenditures  to  total  municipal  ex- 
penditures in  Cleveland  and  in  18  other  cities. 

The  most  recent  assessment  of  Cleveland  property 
was  made  in  1910.  In  the  past  few  years,  property 
has  been  assessed  by  deputies  of  the  State  Tax  Com- 
mission; but  a  new  law  provides  that  the  assess- 
ments are  to  be  made  in  the  future  by  locally  elected 
officials,  working  under  the  direction  of  the  county 
auditor. 

For  a  considerable  part  of  its  income  the  Board  of 
Education  is  dependent  upon  special  taxes,  which, 
under  the  law,  must  be  authorized  at  intervals  by 
the  voters  of  the  district.  The  revenue  of  the  schools 
may  be  reduced  as  the  result  of  some  future  election. 
338 


•  KMnw  K\o  trx^o  o\f>-  »^»r>w  .-•  c\w  o  »h  c« 


s 


I  t 


I 


O 

.a 


^ 


o 
o 
-a 


-a 

a 


> 
5 


I   00 


339 


As  it  is  never  certain  tliat  the  authorization  will  be 
continued  beyond  the  current  term  of  years,  the 
board  finds  it  difficult  to  formulate  and  to  follow 
a  far-sighted  educational  poUcy.  It  is  believed  that 
the  situation  would  be  improved  by  a  modification 
of  the  state  law,  giving  to  boards  of  education  wider 
powers  and  responsibilities  in  determining  what 
taxation  is  needed  for  the  support  of  the  schools  and 
freeing  them  from  the  necessity  of  appealing  to  the 
voters  for  periodical  authorizations  to  raise  funds 
for  routine  and  essential  expenditures. 

An  increase  in  the  revenues  of  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion may  be  brought  about  either  through  the  repeal 
of  the  law  limiting  tax  rates  or  through  an  advance 
in  the  assessed  value  of  property  within  the  school 
district.  The  modification  of  restrictions  on  the  tax 
rate  is  an  end  to  be  worked  for,  but  it  may  be  diffi- 
cult to  secure  the  repeal  of  the  present  law. 

A  change  in  valuations  may  occur  either  as  the 
result  of  an  advance  in  the  actual  market  value  of 
property  in  the  district,  or  through  a  change  in  the 
ratio  of  assessed  value  to  market  value.  The  popula- 
tion of  the  city  of  Cleveland  is  increasing  rapidly. 
It  seems  probable  that  taxable  wealth  is  increasing 
also,  and  at  a  rate  not  less  rapid. 

Ohio  law  provides  that  taxable  property  shall  be 
assessed  at  its  true  market  value  rather  than  at  some 
fractional  part  of  this  value.  The  enforcement  of  this 
provision  of  the  law  rests  with  public  officers,  and 
these  officers  may  be  aided  in  their  duties  by  the  co- 
operation of  the  public. 

840 


Conclusions  and  Recommendations 
1.  The  finances  of  the  Cleveland  Board  of  Education 
are  in  an  unsatisfactory  condition. 

2.  In  the  past  12  years  expenditures  have  mounted 
rapidly.  The  revenues  of  the  Board  of  Education 
have  grown  less  rapidly  than  its  expenditures. 

3.  There  are  at  present  deficits  in  the  tuition  and 
contingent  funds  which  together  amount  to  over 
$700,000.  In  recent  years  the  Board  has  been  forced 
to  borrow  money  on  short  term  notes  in  order  to 
meet  its  current  obligations. 

4.  The  expenditures  of  the  Board  of  Education  are 
not  excessive;  they  are  lower  than  the  average  ex- 
penditures of  large  American  cities. 

5.  In  the  distribution  of  expenditures  for  school 
operation  and  maintenance,  business  functions  have, 
apparently,  been  favored  at  the  expense  of  educa- 
tional functions. 

6.  It  should  be  possible  to  effect  economies,  or 
to  increase  efficiency  of  administration,  by: 

a.  Eliminating  duplication  in  the  keeping  of  ac- 
counts 

b.  Utilizing  superfluous  cash  balances 

c.  Obtaining  larger  interest  returns  on  money  de- 
posited in  banks 

d.  Adopting  the  platoon  system  of  school  admin- 
istration 

7.  In  creating  bond  issues  to  obtain  money  for  the 
construction  of  school  buildings  serial  issues  should 
be  used  in  preference  to  issues  for  uniform  terms  of 
years. 

341 


8.  The  most  favorable  results  that  could  be  ob- 
tained through  changes  in  methods  would  not  solve 
the  financial  problems  of  the  Board  of  Education. 

9.  A  substantial  increase  in  school  revenues  is 
urgently  needed. 

10.  Local  taxes  constitute  the  principal  source  ol 
the  income  of  the  Board  of  Education. 

11.  The  Board's  income  from  local  taxation  is 
limited  by  provisions  of  the  state  law. 

12.  Increased  revenues  can  be  secured  through 
modification  of  the  law  limiting  taxation  for  school 
purposes  or  as  a  result  of  an  advance  in  the  assessed 
value  of  taxable  wealth. 


342 


CHAPTER  XIX 

SCHOOL  ORGANIZATION  AND  ADMIN- 
ISTRATION 

(Leonard  P.  Ajtcs) 

For  many  years  educational  conditions  in  Cleveland 
have  been  unsatisfactory.  There  has  been  a  series 
of  administrations  with  differing  policies  and  a  suc- 
cession of  superintendents  having  widely  diverse 
methods  and  aims.  There  has  been  much  criticism 
of  school  procedure  in  the  public  press  and  in  popular 
discussion. 

This  report  on  organization  and  administration 
has  only  one  purpose,  and  that  is  to  answer  the  double 
question,  "What  is  the  matter  with  the  Cleveland 
schools  and  what  should  be  done  to  remedy  the  situa- 
tion?" The  difficulties  pointed  out  and  the  remedies 
suggested  are  many  and  diverse,  but  in  final  analysis 
all  the  difficulties  have  their  origin  in  the  methods 
of  board  control  and  all  the  suggested  remedies  are 
directed  toward  changing  those  methods.  Some  of 
the  suggested  remedies  are  immediately  available  and 
may  be  enacted  by  the  board  itself,  while  others  are 
dependent  on  changes  in  state  law  and  must  be  post- 
poned to  the  future. 

343 


Methods  of  Board  Determine  Character  of 

School  System 
Attention  is  called  to  the  fundamental  fact  that  the 
quality  of  the  public  education  that  Cleveland  re- 
ceives is  largely  determined  by  the  leadership  that 
directs  it.  Here,  as  in  every  other  human  organiza- 
tion, the  character  of  the  whole  is  conditioned, 
shaped,  and  largely  determined  by  the  person  or  the 
board  at  the  head.  In  this  city  it  is  now  the  Board  of 
Education  rather  than  the  director  or  superintendent 
that  occupies  this  position  of  leadership  and  is  re- 
sponsible for  the  results. 

At  the  present  time  and  for  some  years  past  the 
Board  of  Education  has  been  mainly  engaged  in  deal- 
ing with  little  problems  of  specific  application  instead 
of  considering  and  deciding  large  problems  of  general 
policy.  Because  of  this  the  executive  officers  of  the 
board  are  mainly  occupied  in  referring  such  minor 
matters  to  the  board,  being  authorized  to  act  upon 
them,  acting  on  them,  and  being  confirmed  by  the 
board  for  having  so  acted.  Concerning  most  of  these 
minor  matters  of  business  and  educational  detail  the 
board  members  can  have  no  intimate  knowledge  al- 
though they  are  called  upon  to  render  decisions  con- 
cerning them.  In  addition  to  the  many  hundreds  of 
matters  so  referred  to  the  board,  there  are  other  much 
more  numerous  and  still  smaller  decisions  continu- 
ally reached  by  the  executive  ofl&cers  in  the  conduct 
of  their  daily  work.  Nevertheless,  except  where  the 
law  or  a  board  rule  decides  the  matter,  there  is  no 
way  by  which  any  one  can  be  sure  which  matters  are 
344 


to  be  referred  to  the  board  and  which  are  to  be  de- 
cided without  being  so  referred.  For  this  reason 
there  is  always  doubt  as  to  where  the  authority  for 
many  necessary  acts  and  decisions  is  really  located. 

Because  of  this  condition  there  exists  at  headquar- 
ters a  chronic  vagueness  as  to  just  who  is  responsible 
for  reaching  a  decision  concerning  any  question  that 
is  a  little  out  of  the  ordinary.  As  a  result  of  this 
vagueness  concerning  new  problems,  and  because  all 
concerned  feel  a  sense  of  greater  security  concerning 
old  ones,  we  find  most  of  the  board  members  and 
board  employees  devoting  themselves  to  specialized 
interests  and  avoiding  contact  with  new  problems. 

Since  this  condition  characterizes  the  leadership 
of  public  education  in  Cleveland,  its  results  permeate 
the  community  and  the  school  system.  As  the  mat- 
ters considered  by  the  board  are  mostly  those  of 
specific  detail,  the  newspaper  reports  of  board  meet- 
ings deal  with  just  these  considerations  and  the  public 
discusses  them  under  the  impression  that  they  con- 
stitute the  real  problems  of  public  education.  Since 
the  employed  executives  at  the  head  are  not  quite 
sure  as  to  just  what  they  have  power  to  do  and  are 
responsible  for  doing,  they  cannot  definitely  delegate 
authority  and  responsibility  to  their  assistants  and 
subordinates.  This  same  condition  extends  all  the 
way  down  the  Une.  The  general  result  of  it  all  is  a 
community  interest  and  an  educational  system  char- 
acterized by  over-emphasis  on  differences  concerning 
minor  matters.  Combined  with  this  is  the  habit  on 
the  part  of  almost  all  concerned  of  thinking  that 
345 


some  one  else  should  be  responsible  for  facing  the  real 
and  larger  problems. 

This  is  a  drastic  charge  to  make  in  such  sweeping 
terms,  and  it  does  not  fairly  represent  the  attitude 
of  every  individual  in  the  school  system,  for  there  are 
marked  exceptions  to  the  general  condition  described. 
It  does,  however,  seem  to  indicate  the  nature  of 
Cleveland's  great  educational  problem  and  many  in- 
stances and  illustrations  in  corroboration  of  this  are 
given  in  the  report  of  which  this  is  but  a  brief  sum- 
mary. 

What  the  Board  Should  Do 
If  the  present  educational  troubles  of  the  city  are  due 
to  the  methods  of  the  Board  of  Education,  then  the 
first  step  in  remedying  them  is  for  the  board  to  decide 
what  its  activities  ought  to  be.  Reduced  to  simplest 
terms  these  may  be  stated  as  follows:  The  board 
should  decide  what  it  wants  to  have  done,  select 
people  to  do  these  things,  study  results  to  see  how 
well  they  are  being  done,  and  keep  telling  the  public 
about  the  problems  faced  and  progress  made. 

To  put  this  simple  formula  into  effect  involves 
ultimately  almost  every  reform  that  has  been  sug- 
gested. They  are  not  all  immediately  available,  but 
the  more  essential  steps  may  be  taken  at  once  if  the 
board  decides  to  do  so.  It  is  worth  while  to  consider 
in  some  detail  the  different  steps  involved  in  such  a 
program  of  reform  and  to  note  which  ones  are  at 
once  possible  of  accomplishment  and  which  must  be 
postponed  until  changes  in  state  law  have  been  secured. 
346 


How  THE  Board  Should  Be  Selected 
Under  the  present  law  board  members  are  chosen  at 
popular  elections  held  at  the  same  time  as  the  elec- 
tions for  city  officers.  It  is  clear  that  this  is  not  the 
wisest  method  of  selecting  a  board  of  education.  In 
the  excitement  of  the  general  election  the  welfare  of 
the  schools  becomes  temporarily  a  matter  of  minor 
consideration  and  school  interests  become  obscured 
by  political  interests. 

A  much  better  way  is  to  hold  the  school  elections 
at  a  separate  time  from  the  other  elections.  This 
change  has  been  put  into  effect  in  a  number  of  cities 
and  has  been  found  a  great  improvement  over  the  old 
way.  If  the  school  elections  are  held  quietly  each 
spring  in  public  school  houses  and  with  a  simplified 
form  of  ballot,  it  is  found  that  the  expense  is  slight 
in  comparison  with  the  beneficial  results  that  are 
brought  about. 

Another  device  for  securing  the  same  results  is  to 
have  the  board  members  appointed  by  the  mayor 
or  elected  by  the  city  commissioners  instead  of  hav- 
ing them  elected  by  the  people.  Under  a  commission 
form  of  government,  election  by  the  commissioners 
gives  exceedingly  satisfactory  results,  but  under  the 
ordinary  form  of  city  government  popular  election  on 
a  special  election  day  is  probably  the  best  plan. 

Under  any  plan  of  election  or  appointment  it  is 
of  the  utmost  importance  to  secure  board  members 
of  first-class  ability.  This  involves  the  selection  of  a 
rather  unusual  type  of  citizen.  The  efficient  board 
of  education  does  its  work  by  deciding  on  problems 
347 


of  policy,  expansion,  and  expenditure  and  it  employs 
skilled  experts  to  administer  the  details.  The  valu- 
able school  board  member  is  the  one  capable  of  doing 
these  difficult  things.  In  general  such  efficient  board 
members  are  men  who  are  successful  in  handling 
large  and  difficult  undertakings.  They  are  often  mer- 
chants, manufacturers,  bankers,  contractors,  and 
professional  men  of  large  practice.  Such  men  can 
generally  think  independently,  explain  the  reasons 
for  their  actions,  take  the  advice  of  experts,  and 
spend  money  intelligently. 

Many  students  of  municipal  government  believe 
that  it  would  be  better  to  do  away  with  boards  of 
education  entirely  and  trust  the  direction  of  the 
schools  to  a  superintendent  who  would  have  some- 
thing of  the  same  relationship  to  the  work  as  exists 
between  the  chief  of  police  or  the  chief  of  the  fire 
department  and  their  assistants  and  subordinates. 
If  the  proper  work  of  the  board  of  education  were 
to  deal  with  a  mass  of  routine  business  detail,  this 
view  would  be  sound  and  the  board  of  education 
might  well  be  dispensed  with.  In  the  opinion  of  the 
Survey  Staff  a  board  of  education  is  needed  in  this 
city  simply  because  its  proper  work  is  so  very  differ- 
ent from  the  conduct  of  routine  business  details.  To 
an  exceptional  degree  the  educational  system  of  the 
city  demands  continuously  intelligent  policy-making 
activity.  The  city  is  growing  with  unremitting  rapid- 
ity. Its  economic  life  is  exceptionally  varied  and 
mobile.  New  and  large  alien  communities  spring  up 
almost  periodically  and  in  unexpected  places.  All 
348 


these  conditions  combine  to  make  it  necessary  that 
its  educational  government  shall  be  flexible  and 
adaptable.  It  is  more  likely  to  have  these  qualities 
if  it  has  the  advantages  of  lay  counsel  than  if  its 
policies  are  exclusively  decided  by  its  professional 
officials.  A  requisite  for  unbroken  progress  in  public 
government  is  to  go  forward  rapidly  enough  to  enlist 
the  confidence  and  support  of  the  people,  but  not  so 
rapidly  as  to  arouse  their  suspicion  and  distrust.  In 
the  conduct  of  public  education  the  function  of  the 
layman  is  to  moderate  the  transports  of  the  experts. 
It  is  to  keep  the  professional  schoolman  from  exceed- 
ing the  educational  speed  limit. 

All  this  is  far  from  meaning  that  the  deliberative 
work  of  the  board  should  be  limited  to  telling  the 
superintendent  what  the  public  wants,  and  the  work 
of  the  superintendent  limited  to  putting  these  orders 
into  execution.  In  addition  to  his  work  las  executive, 
the  main  business  of  the  superintendent  is  to  think, 
to  plan,  and  to  propose,  and  the  business  of  the  board 
is  to  make  decisions  about  these  proposals.  This  is 
the  way  that  educational  progress  is  made,  but  if  the 
superintendent  and  the  board  successfully  unite  in 
this  kind  of  team-work  they  will  constantly  be  taking 
forward  steps  that  will  appear  as  questionable  inno- 
vations to  the  pubUc  at  large.  Because  of  this  fact 
one  of  the  most  important  tasks  of  the  board  consists 
in  a  continuous  policy  of  pubhc  education  for  the  pur- 
pose of  carrying  the  community.  One  of  the  essen- 
tials in  this  process  is  full  discussion  in  board  meet- 
ings of  educational  policies  and  contemplated  im- 
portant changes. 

349 


The  remedy  for  this  part  of  the  problem  is  a  double 
one.  In  the  first  place  Cleveland  ought  to  give  the 
greatest  care  and  attention  to  the  selection  of  board 
members.  In  the  second  place  the  city  should  en- 
deavor to  secure  from  the  state  legislature  permission 
to  provide  for  the  election  or  appointment  of  board 
members  by  some  method  other  than  through  elec- 
tions held  in  conjunction  with  municipal  elections. 
The  board  on  its  part  should  bear  constantly  in  mind 
the  importance  of  carrying  the  community. 

Board  Should  Delegate  Details 
A  large  part  of  the  first  three  chapters  of  the  full 
report  is  devoted  to  an  analysis  of  the  business  and 
procedure  of  the  board.  The  results  show  that  the 
board  transacts  a  great  deal  of  business  mostly  re- 
lated to  the  business  management  of  the  system. 
Most  of  the  time  and  energy  of  the  board  is  spent  in 
the  faithful,  monotonous,  unanimous  transaction  of 
routine  details.  Little  time  is  left  for  considering 
matters  of  educational  policy.  Moreover,  the  amount 
of  such  business  transacted  is  growing  so  rapidly 
from  year  to  year  that  some  reform  of  board  proce- 
dure will  be  essential  before  long.  This  growth  is 
illustrated  in  Diagram  33." 

Part  of  the  reason  for  this  situation  is  to  be  found 
in  the  state  laws  which  require  the  board  to  deal  with 
many  matters  of  routine  which  would  be  much  better 
delegated  to  its  employed  officials.  Nevertheless  it  is 
clear  that  the  bulk  of  such  business  could  be  greatly 
reduced  through  a  careful  and  vigorous  attempt  by 
350 


the  board  to  limit,  combine,  and  condense  the  items 
of  routine  detail.  Wherever  possible  resolutions 
should  be  printed  and  read  by  title  and  brief  instead 


8C» 
750 
700 
650 
600 
550 
500 
U50 
UOO 

350 
300 
250 

200 

150 

100 

50 


1906  1907  1908  1909  1910  1911  1912  1913  i9i>t  1915 
Diagram  33. — Number  of  roll  call  votes  each  year  for  10  years 

of  being  read  aloud  in  full.   The  executive  officers  of 
the  board  should  not  be  permitted  to  introduce  need- 
lessly numerous  or  complex  communications  or  to 
351 


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take  up  the  time  of  the  board  by  referring  to  it  mat- 
ters that  they  should  properly  decide  themselves. 

The  problem  that  the  board  faces  in  attempting  to 
divest  itself  of  detailed  routine  calls  for  two  remedies. 
The  first  is  for  the  board  to  make  a  careful  study  of 
its  own  activities  with  the  definite  purpose  of  con- 
densing, abridging,  and  delegating  detail.  The  second 
remedy  is  for  the  board  to  lend  its  hearty  support  to 
every  wisely  considered  bill  introduced  in  the  state 
legislature  that  has  as  its  object  the  simplification  and 
systematizing  of  the  conduct  of  board  business. 

School  Problems  Require  Board  Deliberation 
There  is  another  fundamentally  important  reason 
why  the  Board  of  Education  must  by  some  means  or 
other  change  its  methods  so  as  to  find  time  for  dis- 
cussion and  deUberation  in  regular  meetings  and  with 
the  full  membership  present.  This  is  because  the 
school  system  is  now  facing  a  number  of  problems  of 
policy  so  far-reaching  in  importance  that  they  cannot 
be  decided  by  the  executive  officers  alone,  so  difficult 
of  solution  that  they  should  not  be  decided  by  sub- 
committees of  the  board,  and  so  complex  that  solu- 
tions can  be  reached  only  through  discussion  and  not 
by  the  private  investigation  and  study  of  individual 
members.  Among  such  problems  the  following  are 
typical: 

The  city  has  academic,  technical,  and  commercial 
high  schools  and  soon  more  high  school  accommoda- 
tions must  be  provided.    Is  the  best  poUcy  to  build 
352 


another  school  of  one  of  these  three  types,  and  if  so 
of  which  type?  Or  would  it  be  better  to  build  a  high 
school  of  music,  or  a  high  school  of  art,  or  a  high 
school  of  agriculture?  Or  would  it  be  better  to  change 
the  present  high  schools  into  cosmopolitan  high 
schools? 

The  city  has  experimented  with  junior  high  schools 
for  one  year.  What  are  the  results  of  the  experiment 
and  should  the  system  be  extended  throughout  the 
city? 

The  city  has  experimented  with  the  platoon  plan 
for  one  year.  What  are  the  results  of  the  experiment 
and  should  the  system  be  extended? 

Should  Cleveland  adopt  the  Gary  plan  in  whole  or 
in  part? 

Should  school  libraries  be  located  in  each  junior 
high  school?  In  each  elementary  school?  Should 
branches  of  the  public  library  be  located  in  school 
buildings  or  in  separate  buildings? 

Should  mentally  sub-normal  children  be  segregated 
in  special  buildings  and  physically  exceptional  chil- 
dren of  normal  mentality  taught  in  clasfees  in  regular 
school  buildings,  thus  reversing  the  present  policy  of 
the  system? 

Should  a  new  commercial  high  school  be  erected  or 
commercial  courses  be  established  in  all  high  schools, 
and  in  either  case  should  boys  and  girls  receive  the 
same  training? 

By  what  methods  may  the  city  best  solve  the  prob- 
lems of  teaching  English  to  non-English-speaking 
immigrants? 

The  city  now  needs  annually  many  more  new 

teachers  than  there  are  graduates  from  the  local 

normal  school.     Shall  the  city  enlarge  the  normal 

school  or  secure  part  of  its  teachers  from  outside? 

23  353 


If  it  follows  the  latter  course,  how  may  it  locate 
and  select  the  best  teachers? 

Changes  in  the  salary  schedules  of  teachers  have 
been  planned  to  go  into  effect  next  fall.  By  what 
methods  may  salary  increases  be  made  to  stimulate 
professional  improvement  and  reward  teaching  skill? 

How  can  the  city  make  sure  that  the  elementary 
principals  keep  abreast  of  modern  educational 
progress? 

How  can  the  system  secure  sujQBcient  revenues  to 
place  its  finances  on  a  "pay  as  you  go"  basis? 

Should  new  school  buildings  include  shops,  audi- 
toriums, swimming  pools,  gymnasiums,  and  the  like, 
and  does  the  use  of  such  special  faciUties  justify 
their  great  expense? 

Should  the  compulsory  attendance  law  be  so  inter- 
preted as  to  compel  boys  and  girls  to  remain  in  school 
until  they  are  15  or  16,  even  if  they  graduate  from 
the  eighth  grade  before  reaching  these  ages? 

Such  questions  as  these  require  for  their  solution 
the  careful  consideration  and  mature  deliberation  of 
the  whole  board.  In  order  to  be  free  to  discuss  and 
decide  them,  the  board  needs  to  reform  its  procedure 
so  as  to  spend  less  of  its  time  in  disposing  of  the  great 
mass  of  matters  that  do  not  need  discussion  or  delib- 
eration. 


Direct  Action  as  a  Substitute  roR  Committee 

Action 
In  Chapter  III  of  the  full  report  a  considerable  sec- 
tion is  devoted  to  considering  committee  organiza- 
tion and  the  way  in  which  the  board  transacts  its 
354 


business  through  its  committees.  As  a  conclusion  of 
this  consideration  the  statement  is  made  that  the 
present  procedure  through  committees  is  one  of  the 
factors  mainly  responsible  for  loading  up  the  board 
with  a  mass  of  routine  and  detailed  work.  There  is 
ample  evidence  that  the  board's  business  would  be 
far  more  simply  and  readily  conducted  if  most  of 
it  were  transacted  directly  by  the  board  as  a  whole 
without  being  referred  to  the  committees.  The  rec- 
ommendation is  there  made  and  is  here  repeated 
that  the  Board  of  Education  consider  this  problem 
in  connection  with  the  recommended  study  of  its 
own  procedure.  By  this  means  an  important  im- 
provement could  be  brought  about  without  waiting 
for  new  legislation. 


Unit  Instead  of  Dual  Organization 
A  considerable  part  of  the  third  chapter  of  the  report 
is  devoted  to  a  consideration  of  the  inseparability  of 
business  and  educational  matters.  This  is  important 
in  Cleveland  because  at  the  present  time  the  Board 
of  Education  is  so  organized  that  there  are  two  major 
independent  departments  under  two  independent 
executives  of  equal  rank.  One  of  these  is  the  business 
department  under  the  Director  of  Schools  and  the 
other  is  the  educational  department  under  the  Super- 
intendent of  Schools.  This  form  of  organization  is 
in  considerable  measure  responsible  for  the  general 
vagueness  as  to  responsibility  and  authority  that 
characterizes  the  system.    The  business  department 

355 


is  steadily  growing  in  relative  importance  and 
threatens  to  dominate  the  school  system.  Already 
Cleveland  spends  decidedly  more  than  other  similar 
cities  for  the  business  activities  that  directly  concern 
the  work  of  the  Director  of  Schools  and  decidedly 
less  than  other  similar  cities  for  the  educational  pur- 
poses immediately  related  to  the  work  of  the  super- 
intendent. The  conduct  of  educational  affairs  would 
be  bettered  by  substituting  a  unit  system  of  control 
under  the  leadership  of  one  man  for  the  present  dual 
system  under  the  leadership  of  two  men.  If  this  fun- 
damental change  is  not  made,  the  board  should  at 
least  effect  such  a  reorganization  as  will  do  away  with 
such  overlapping  of  authority  and  uncertainty  as  to 
responsibility  as  is  referred  to  in  the  closing  sections 
of  Chapter  III  of  the  full  report. 

The  suggested  reform  is  one  that  can  be  brought 
about  under  the  existing  law.  It  is  not  so  essential  as 
the  reform  of  board  procedure,  and  many  of  the 
present  imdesirable  tendencies  could  be  checked  by 
administrative  readjustments  and  without  abolishing 
the  oflBce  and  department  of  the  director. 

In  this  connection  attention  must  be  called  to  the 
fact  that  the  salary  of  the  superintendent  in  this  city 
is  inadequate.  The  average  salary  of  superintendents 
of  schools  in  cities  of  250,000  or  over  is  approximately 
$8,000.  In  Cleveland  it  is  only  $6,000.  With  such 
cities  as  New  York,  Chicago,  Philadelphia,  Boston, 
Pittsburgh,  Detroit,  and  Cincinnati  paying  their 
superintendents  salaries  of  $9,000,  $10,000,  and 
$12,000,  this  city  cannot  expect  to  secure  and  retain 
356 


the  services  of  equally  able  leaders  without  paying  a 
corresponding  salary.  There  are  cities  of  scarcelj'^ 
more  than  20,000  inhabitants  that  pay  their  super- 
intendents the  same  salary  as  is  paid  by  this  city  of 
three-quarters  of  a  million. 


Authority  and  Responsibility  Should  Be 
Definitely  Located 
There  should  be  worked  out  a  systematic  plan  for 
the  definite  placing  of  authority  and  responsibility 
throughout  the  school  system.  The  purpose  of  such 
a  plan  would  be  to  bring  about  a  condition  under 
which  each  person  in  the  system  would  know  just 
what  he  or  she  was  responsible  for  doing.  The  object 
would  be  to  make  the  impersonal  rule  of  duties  and 
responsibiUties  take  the  place  of  the  personal  rule  of 
superiors  over  subordinates.  This  reform  is  one 
which  would  largely  come  as  a  consequence  of  adopt- 
ing the  several  reforms  that  have  been  advocated. 


Free  Textbook  System  Should  Be  Adopted 
In  Cleveland  textbooks  are  adopted  for  five-year 
periods,  purchased  by  the  Board  of  Education,  and 
sold  to  the  pupils.  Since  the  expense  is  borne  indi- 
vidually by  the  parents,  it  has  assumed  extraordinary 
importance  and  changes  in  textbooks  are  secured  only 
with  difficulty.  This  results  in  a  stability  of  the  text- 
book lists  that  in  turn  makes  it  most  important  for 
the  textbook  publisher  to  have  his  books  placed  on 
357 


the  accepted  list  when  the  five  year  adoptions  are 
being  made. 

These  conditions  combine  to  produce  on  the  part 
of  the  textbook  pubUsher  a  periodic  intense  interest 
in  the  results  of  school  selections.  As  a  result  pub- 
lishing firms  have  in  the  past  wielded  large  influence 
in  the  election  of  school  board  members  and  execu- 
tive officers. 

For  the  purpose  of  the  present  study  it  is  fair  to 
say  that  during  the  period  from  1902-06  the  work 
of  the  schools  was  directed  by  Superintendent  Moul- 
ton;  during  that  from  1907-12  it  was  in  charge  of 
Superintendent  Elson;  and  during  the  period  from 
1913-15  it  was  headed  by  Superintendent  Frederick. 

The  principal  facts  with  respect  to  textbook  pur- 
chases during  this  period  are  shown  in  Table  16  and 
Diagram  34.  Attention  is  called  to  some  general  facts 
concerning  textbook  purchases  during  this  period. 
The  average  expenditure  was  about  $60,000  a  year. 
The  per  capita  cost  was  about  88  cents  per  child 
enrolled  in  the  day  schools.  The  total  annual  pur- 
chases varied  from  a  little  over  $23,000  to  nearly 
$114,000,  and  the  per  capita  expense  varied  from  40 
cents  per  child  in  1904  to  $1.78  in  1907. 

During  this  period  books  were  purchased  from  38 
different  companies,  but  so  many  of  the  orders  were 
given  to  a  few  firms  that  the  seven  publishing  con- 
cerns mentioned  in  Table  16  secured  nearly  80  per 
cent  of  the  business.  The  sharp  fluctuations  in  the 
amount  of  business  done  by  the  different  companies 
in  different  years  are  shown  by  both  table  and  dia- 
358 


i90aU903li.9Wii9051x906|i9O7li9c«ll909li9X0|i9U|i9i2|i9i3lil"^U 


Diagram  34. — Amounts  of  textbook  purchases  (in  thousands  of 
dollars)  from  various  publishers  over  a  series  of  years 

359 


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360 


gram.  The  diagram  is  particularly  worthy  of  study. 
It  shows  in  an  impressive  way  that  fluctuations  in  the 
amount  of  business  done  with  different  firms  have 
been  coincident  with  changes  in  the  educational 
administration. 

In  order  to  remedy  this  situation  as  well  as  in  con- 
sideration of  the  educational  welfare  of  the  children, 
it  is  recommended  that  a  free  textbook  poHcy  be 
adopted.  Cleveland  already  has  the  rudiments  of 
such  a  poUcy,  for  at  present  the  city  supplies  without 
expense  supplementary  reading  books  for  all  pupils, 
textbooks  for  all  evening  school  pupils,  and  textbooks 
for  pupils  whose  parents  state  that  they  are  unable 
personally  to  supply  them.  These  purchases  of  free 
books  involve  expenditures  constituting  from  one- 
fifth  to  one-half  of  the  entire  expense  for  books. 

It  is  recommended  that  the  city  extend  its  present 
rudimentary  free  textbook  policy  until  it  becomes  a 
universal  one  applying  to  all  the  children.  There 
is  abundant  evidence  that  such  a  policy  promotes 
educational  efficiency,  facilitates  uniformity,  tends  to 
prolong  the  school  life  of  the  child,  makes  the  adop- 
tion of  new  texts  easier,  reduces  the  influences  of 
textbook  politics,  and  lessens  expense  to  the  com- 
munity. 

Conclusions  and  Recommendations 
1.  Cleveland's  educational  troubles  have  their  origin 
in  present  methods  of  board  control. 

2.  The  board  should  divest  itself  of  routine  detail 
and  delegate  such  work  to  its  employed  executives. 
361 


3.  The  board  should  decide  what  it  wants  to  have 
done,  select  people  to  do  these  things,  study  results 
to  see  how  well  they  are  being  done,  and  keep  telling 
the  public  about  the  problems  faced  and  the  progress 
made. 

4.  The  board  should  concern  itself  with  getting 
things  done  and  stop  attempting  to  do  so  many  of 
them  itself. 

5.  The  board  should  make  a  careful  study  of  its 
own  activities  with  the  definite  purpose  of  condens- 
ing, abridging,  and  delegating  detail. 

6.  The  board  should  simplify  and  largely  abandon 
its  present  method  of  conducting  business  through 
committees. 

7.  School  elections  should  not  be  held  simulta- 
neously with  municipal  elections,  and  the  city  should 
seek  a  change  in  the  law  so  as  to  provide  for  school 
elections  on  some  other  date  or  providing  a  substitute 
for  popular  election. 

8.  A  single-headed  form  of  organization  under  the 
leadership  of  the  superintendent  of  schools  would  be 
better  than  the  present  double-headed  organization 
under  the  independent  leadership  of  the  director  and 
the  superintendent. 

9.  The  annual  salary  of  the  superintendent  should 
be  increased  to  $10,000,  so  that  Cleveland  may  suc- 
cessfully compete  with  other  cities  of  corresponding 
and  smaller  size. 

10.  Authority  and  responsibility  should  be  defi- 
nitely located  throughout  the  school  system,  so  that 


362 


each  person  concerned  would  know  just  what  he  or 
she  was  responsible  for  doing. 

11.  The  recent  establishment  of  a  Division  of 
Research  and  Efficiency  is  commended  and  the  hope 
is  expressed  that  the  new  division  may  receive  the 
hearty  and  sustained  support  of  the  board  to  the  end 
that  accurate  and  ample  information  may  provide  a 
safe  and  sound  basis  for  the  board's  legislative  and 
deliberative  actions. 

12.  Cleveland  should  adopt  the  free  textbook 
system. 


363 


CLEVELAND  EDUCATION  SURVEY  REPORTS 

These  reports  can  be  secured  from  the  Survey  Committee  of 
the  Cleveland  Foundation,  Cleveland,  Ohio.  They  will  be 
sent  postpaid  for  25  cents  per  volume  with  the  exception 
of  "Measuring  the  Work  of  the  PubUc  Schools"  by  Judd, 
"The  Cleveland  School  Survey"  by  Ayrea,  and  "Wage  Earn- 
ing and  Education"  by  Lutz.  These  three  volumes  will  be 
sent  for  50  cents  each.  All  of  these  reports  may  be  secured 
at  the  same  rates  from  the  Division  of  Education  of  the 
Russell  Sage  Foundation,  New  York  City. 

Child  Accounting  in  the  Public  Schools — Ayres. 

Educational  Extension — Perry. 

Education  through  Recreation — Johnson. 

Financing  the  Public  Schools — Clark. 

Health  Work  in  the  Public  Schools — Ayres.     • 

Household  Arts  and  School  Lunches — Boughton. 

Measuring  the  Work  of  the  Public  Schools — Judd. 

Overcrowded  Schools  and  the  Platoon  Plan — Hart- 
well. 

School  Buildings  and  Equipment — Ayres. 

Schools  and  Classes  for  Exceptional  Children — Mit- 
chell. 

School  Organization  and  Administration — Ayres. 

The  Public  Library  and  the  Public  Schools — ^Ayres 
and  McKinnie. 

The  School  and  the  Immigrant. 

The  Teaching  Staff — Jessup. 

What  the  Schools  Teach  and  Might  Teach— Bobbitt. 

The  Cleveland  School  Survey  (Summary) — Ayres. 


Boys  and  Girls  in  Commercial  Work — Stevens. 

Department  Store  Occupations — O'Leary. 

Dressmaking  and  Millinery — Bryner. 

Railroad  and  Street  Transportation — Fleming. 

The  Building  Trades— Shaw. 

The  Garment  Trades — Bryner. 

The  Metal  Trades — Lutz. 

The  Printing  Trades — Shaw. 

Wage  Earning  and  Education  (Summary) — Lutz. 


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